The Montreal Canadiens honoured Andrei Markov, one of the more underrated defencemen of his generation, before puck drop against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night. Markov spent his entire 17-year career with the Canadiens, finishing just 10 games shy of 1000, recording 119 goals and 572 points. Some may still hold a grudge against the former management group for not re-signing Markov for one final season so that he could reach the 1000-game mark, but it all seems to be water under the bridge now between the player and the organization.
Markov walked out to a standing ovation that felt like it could have gone on all night if he had not finally grabbed the microphone to deliver his speech.