Andrei Markov announces his retirement at age 41

Former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov of Voskresensk, Russia retired as a professional hockey player at age 41 on Thursday according to the Canadian Press. Markov had spent 16 seasons with the Canadiens from 2000 to 2017. In the last three seasons Markov was with the Kazan Ak-Bars and Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.

In 2019-20 in the KHL, Markov had one goal and six assists for seven points in 23 games with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. He also had 32 penalty minutes and had a zero plus/minus rating. In six postseason games this past season, Markov had one assist and two penalty minutes.

As a team, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv finished in sixth place in the Western Conference with a record of 34 wins, 23 regulation losses and five losses in extra time for 73 points in 2019-20. In the KHL playoffs, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv lost four games to two to Jokerit in the Western Conference quarterfinals. However there was no Western Conference semi-finals because the KHL postseason was cancelled because of coronavirus. There are currently 32,008 cases of coronavirus in Russia and 273 deaths.

Markov was originally the Canadiens’ sixth round draft pick, 162nd overall in the 1998 National Hockey League Entry Draft. In 990 National Hockey League regular season games, he had 119 goals, 453 assists and 572 points. He was a +64 with 505 penalty minutes, 294 power play points, 14 shorthanded points, 20 game winning goals and 1627 shots on goal.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Markov played 89 games and had five goals and 27 assists for 32 points. He was a -7 with 56 penalty minutes, two game winning goals and 123 shots on goal.

Markov also represented the Canadiens in two National Hockey League All-Star Games. At the 2008 NHL All-Star Game at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA, Markov scored one goal from Mike Richards and Marian Hossa as the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 8-7. At the 2009 NHL All-Star Game at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Markov scored from Alexander Ovechkin and Marc Savard in a 12-11 Eastern Conference win.