Andrei Markov re-signs with Montreal Canadiens

His name has popped up a number of times in discussions among Raw Charge community members; Andrei Markov was a target (or a wished target) for the Tampa Bay Lightning to pursue during the 2014 NHL free agent signing period.

Not happening. Not after today's news:

The Montreal Canadiens have re-signed pending unrestricted free agent defenceman Andrei Markov to a three-year deal. It has been reported by Elliot Friedman that his new deal is worth $5.75 million per season. Markov had just finished the final year of his current three-year contract which also had a cap hit of $5.75 million per season

And there's your going rate for free agent defensemen this off-season.

The Lightning are in the market, from fan speculation and third-party talk, for a top-4 defenseman. Internal answers exist but if they're ready to assume roles remains to be seen.