Canadiens sign D Markov to four-year contract

May 28, 2007 - 6:11 PM MONTREAL (Ticker) -- The Montreal Canadiens on Monday signed defenseman Andrei Markov to a four-year contract.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Markov, 28, collected six goals, a career-high 43 assists and 56 penalty minutes in 77 games with the Canadiens this past season, his sixth with the club.

"Andrei Markov is one of our best players and a huge part of our hockey team," Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey said. "We drafted and developed a player who has become an elite defenseman in the NHL.

"His desire to remain a member of the Canadiens' organization was evident, and today we are very pleased to have a long-term agreement with Andrei."

A sixth-round draft selection in 1998, Markov has 46 tallies and 161 assists in 411 career games, all with Montreal. The 6-0 blue-liner represented his native Russia in Turin at the 2006 Winter Olympics.