Hockey

The time Andrei Markov could have had Michel Therrien’s death on his conscience
Marc-Olivier Cook
The time Andrei Markov could have had Michel Therrien’s death on his conscience
Credit: A good little rumor, my Andrei.

Tonight, the Canadiens will honor Andrei Markov at the Bell Centre.

The man nicknamed “The General” is sure to receive a warm welcome from the fans, and it's sure to be a special moment for him.

We know he's not known for being a super-emotional guy… but I have a feeling it'll be different tonight.

That said, to “celebrate his return” to town, Martin Leclerc shared a really tasty anecdote about Markov on the recent episode of Tellement Hockey. He recounts how, when Michel Therrien was head coach of the Canadiens, there was a funny exercise in practice: the players were positioned near the goal line and had to shoot into the opposing net in order not to skate.

And if a player managed to hit the crossbar of the opposing net, it was the coaches who had to skate… five lengths of ice. You guessed it: Markov did it, and his teammates jumped on him to congratulate him, because everyone wanted to see the coaches skate.

Except… the guys were afraid Michel Therrien would die because he was out of shape. Martin Leclerc sums it up well with this sentence:

The players were afraid Michel Therrien would die on the ice because he was a heavy smoker. In the end, they said to themselves “My God…” – Martin Leclerc

Ayoye!

(Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports)

Picture this.

You get a notification on your phone… to know that the Canadiens' head coach has died after skating too long in practice due to a bet he lost.

We agree: that would be pretty far-fetched, thank you very much.

But it's a funny anecdote nonetheless. We know Andrei Markov as a rather reserved guy, but he had fun getting his coach to skate even though he could have had Michel Therrien's death on his conscience.

It makes for a good story, at least. And I'm sure Michel Therrien never wanted to test his players like that again… hehe.


Overtime

– Speaking of Markov.

– Of note.

– No worse.

– I like his explanation.

– Well done.

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