With the Mark Sreit signing Tuesday it's becoming more and more likely that Andrei Markov won't be returning to the Montreal Canadiens.

Markov, a veteran of 990 career games, all with the Canadiens, is an unrestricted free-agent and appears to be holding out hope that a return will happen, as Markov has yet to seek out offers from any other teams, sources said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

In late June it was reported that Markov was seeking a two-year, $12-million contract, but Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin made it clear he would have to take less when he said it would be impossible to sign both Markov and then-UFA Alexander Radulov at their demands.

This offseason, the Canadiens have inked defensemen Streit, Karl Alzner, David Schlemko, and Joe Morrow. In all, Montreal has eight defenseman locked up, meaning they might not have the roster spot for Markov regardless of cap space.

If the 38-year-old's time in Montreal has come to an end, he will finish with the second-most games played among Canadiens defensemen, while ranking second in both assists and points with 453 and 572, respectively.

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