I think people are forgetting how good Markov was. If he can be 90% of his former self, then he will probably be the best defenseman on this team.
I remember stats of W-L with and without Markov in the lineup and the disparity was ridiculous.
This is a decent article showing what Markov can do.
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=42201
Lets just hope that he can be the Markov we used to have and that he can stay healthy.