Montreal Canadiens' Andrei Markov is Gone For Four Months; Now What?

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

For Toronto Maple Leaf fans, the 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night left a bitter taste in their mouths. For Montreal Canadiens fans, the win came at a huge cost, mainly defenseman Andrei Markov.

Markov, who is widely considered the Habs' best player, was clipped by the skate of Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, which led to Markov suffering a lacerated tendon in his ankle.

It was an innocent play but, when everything is said and done, the injury will sideline Markov for up to four months and, quite possibly, the entire season.

So, just how bad is it? Well, for starters, the Habs have a 6-19-2 record without Markov in their lineup. Not for nothing, but it would seem to me if the Canadiens intend on making the playoffs that a change might be needed.

Here are the options...

Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey does have a few options. Gainey may chose to call up defensemen Yannick Weber (who had a great training camp), Matthieu Carle, or P.K. Subban from the Hamilton Bulldogs to fill the spot.

That said, none of those guys are capable of playing the kind of minutes and having the impact that Markov has with the Habs. Fact is, outside of a miracle trade, Markov is, for all intensive purposes, irreplaceable.

It is imperative that Gainey finds a legitimate replacement for Markov. Four months is a long time, long enough that it may very well cost the Habs a playoff spot, which, in turn, may mean Gainey loses his job as the Canadiens GM.

With NHL rosters just having been set, the options are slim right now. There are some hysterical rumors out there that have suggested 46-year-old Chris Chelios or, fresh off his retirement ceremony, Patrice Brisebois, should be considered as candidates. In a word, Laughable!

So, with no reasonable candidates on the farm and seemingly nobody on the current roster who can “step up,” Bob Gainey has his work cut out for himself. What to do? What to do?

Well, Mr. Gainey, there is a legitimate candidate out there. A player who was born in St-Louis-de-France, Quebec. He’s currently unemployed and, while he does struggle a bit defensively, he had a total of 14 goals and 18 assists in 2008-09, with one of the NHL’s most defensively focused teams no less. His Name? Marc-Andre Bergeron.

Now, before all you readers get your keyboards tapping, think about it. Bergeron may not be the best defensive defenseman in the world, but he is more than capable of running Montreal's power play and he could certainly gobble up 15 minutes of ice time every night, which would alleviate some pressure off the rest of your defenders.

With Bergeron, you get a 26 year old defenseman with 339 NHL games experience. A player who, in the right situation, could score 15-20 goals and, in a pinch, might even be able to fill the odd void by playing a forward position.

I acknowledge, Bergeron does have a history of being inconsistent and he did have back surgery last season, which, by all reports, was a success. The reality is, in this case anyways, the positives outweigh the negatives, risk/reward, right?

Bottom line? The Habs need to replace the offence lost by Markov's absence and they need a player who can run the power play.

Clearly, with no other offers having been tendered, Bergeron should come at a reasonable, if not, cheap price. It’s a “win-win” for everyone, right?

So, how ‘bout it, Mr. Gainey? It’s your move; will you make the call???

Until next time,

Peace!