Hockey is not especially kind to older players, and for the good of a team, you can't always afford to keep the veterans around out of loyalty, no matter how much they're loved or respected.
Andrei Markov is 37 years old. He's had surgery on both his knees. His contract runs for two more years at $5,750,000 against the cap, and, simply put, that's a lot of red flags for most players.
The General is not most players, and as has been said by others before me, reports of his demise are greatly exaggerated.