Stories he has never heard about. "I did my
job,"<br>Markov said of his time in Toronto. "That's all
that<br>matters.<br><br>"I didn't hear nothing about any problems. No one
said<br>anything. I never heard that from anyone
(in<br>management). I think I was fine."<br><br>The Coyotes think he
is fine as well. They wish they<br>had more just
like him.<br><br>"(His lifestyle) is not even an
issue," Barnett said.<br>"It has never even come up. He
has been a leader for<br>us, on and off the ice. He
has played like an<br>all-star for us. But if you
want to talk to somebody<br>who really loves him, talk
to Ricky Bowness. He's<br>always talking about
Markov."<br><br>Bowness has heard the stories about Markov
but<br>believes none of them.<br><br>"He has been an absolute
joy, a huge addition for us,"<br>Bowness said.
"There's no concern about him. He<br>doesn't drink. He has
been great. We trust him<br>completely."<br><br>Even
if they don't always understand him.<br><br>"He
comes to the bench sometimes after a shift and<br>he's
all excited," Bowness said. "And he's trying
to<br>tell me something. And he's all excited and
trying<br>to get the words out and all I get is, 'Ricky,
Ricky.'<br>The rest of it, I don't understand a word he's
talking<br>about. But that's Danny. You nod your head<br>and he
just keeps talking.<br><br>"What I love about him is
that he plays with so much<br>passion. There's just
not enough of that in the league<br>anymore. Players
who have an absolute love of<br>playing. We're in St.
Louis the other night and he<br>gets bloodied again.
The trainer cleans him up and he<br>has got two
cotton balls stuck up his nostrils.<br>Next thing, I
look around, he's out on the ice and the<br>cotton
balls are still up his nose. He can't breathe,<br>he's
bleeding, his helmet is crooked, but<br>he's out there. I
just love the guy."<br><br>And the Leafs traded him
away for Robert Reichel and<br>Travis Green. All in
the name of progress.