from Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette,

Andrei Markov wants to make it clear he never wanted to leave Montreal.

But two summers ago, when Markov was unable to reach an agreement on a new contract with Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, the defenceman returned home to Russia, signing a two-year KHL deal with Ak Bars Kazan. During his first season in Russia, Markov posted 5-28-33 totals and a plus-7 rating in 55 games and helped Ak Bars Kazan win the Gagarin Cup as KHL champions. Last season, he had 2-12-14 totals and was plus-13 in 49 games.

Now, the 40-year-old is a free agent and would love nothing more than to sign a one-year contract with the Canadiens to finish his playing career and reach the 1,000-game milestone in the NHL. Markov played 16 years with the Canadiens, posting 119-453-572 totals in 990 games and earned the same US$5.75-million salary in each of his last 10 seasons.

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