Andrei Markov out 2 to 4 months

From Sean Gordon of the Globe & Mail:

The Montreal Canadiens’ 4-3 overtime victory against hated rival Toronto on opening night has come at a very steep cost.

Star defenceman Andrei Markov, broadly considered the team’s best player, reportedly spent the night in a Toronto-area hospital where he was operated for a sliced tendon in his left leg.

According to RDS and several press reports in Montreal, he will sit out two to four months – the team has yet to publicly confirm the prognosis.

Read the entire report here.

Wow.  This is horrible news for Habs fans, as Markov is unquestionably the team’s number one defenseman.  His puck moving ability is his biggest strength, along with his skating and he will be missed sorely on the power play.  With this loss, Jaroslav Spacek and Josh Gorges will be relied on more heavily and will need to pick up the slack.  But any way you slice it (no pun intended) the Habs lost their best defenseman for half the season.