Ultimately, it appears as though Don Meehan got exactly what his client wanted.

When Pierre Gauthier gave Andrei Markov a three-year contract Thursday at $5.75 million per season, it was very difficult to see it as anything other than an unmitigated victory for Markov and his agent Meehan.

They got the term they wanted and didn't have to give anything back in terms of salary.

But either way, whether it was two years or three years at this salary, Gauthier was taking the risk that Markov will get hurt again over the course of a season and he would be left scrambling for help on defence.

So the additional year on the contract is not an additional risk on Gauthier's part, it is one on Geoff Molson's part.

It is he and his partners who will have to pay out the contract in real dollars no matter how many games Markov plays over the next three years, and Molson giving the final green light on this contract was a big vote of confidence in not only the player, but the general manager as well.

Insuring a contract for a player as injury-prone as Markov has shown to be of late has to be near impossible, so another blown knee means that money will be paid by the Canadiens, even though Gauthier would benefit from relief in the play money world of the salary cap.

Putting myself in Molson's shoes, which is obviously difficult to do, I have to think the risk/reward assessment on a contract like this is what made the deal happen.

The risk is obvious, but the opinions of the Canadiens medical staff led by Dr. David Mulder and that of the leading orthopaedic surgeon in North America Dr. James Andrews had to be pretty definitive on the health of Markov's knee and the vulnerability to future injury.

So, with that information in hand, Molson would have to weigh the potential reward.

And if Markov is healthy enough to play 200 regular season games over the life of his contract at the level we are accustomed to him playing, that reward is practically immeasurable.

Markov will be 33 in December and will be 35 when this contract expires.

Barring injury, these should be the prime years of his career as an NHL defenceman.

I don't want to compare Markov with these players, but here are a few examples of elite defenceman and how they performed around this period of their careers.

Nicklas Lidstrom – Career-high 80 points at age 35

Chris Chelios – Matched career high with 73 points at age 31, got 72 points at age 34

Scott Niedermayer – Established a new career high with 63 points at age 33, broke it following year with 69 points.

Ray Bourque – From age 32 to 35 was a point machine with 216 in 196 games

Chris Pronger – His time in Anaheim frames his years from age 32 to 35, and he notched 150 points in 220 games

Again, this is a list of future Hall of Fame defencemen, and Markov is nowhere near this level. But he is not old and could very well be approaching some of the best years of his career, years where the desire to win ripens with age, where his leadership can shine brightest, and where he can be at his most effective.

Assuming, of course, he is able to keep himself on the ice.

And that is a considerable risk his general manager and owner have decided to take in the hopes the reward will be far greater.