Gut-wrenching medical update from the Canadiens on Saturday.

The Montreal Canadiens have just shared some truly terrible news.

On Saturday morning, the Canadiens made a surprise announcement when they released a terrible medical update on a member of their staff. According to the official announcement, Canadiens coaching consultant Roger Grillo has been diagnosed with cancer and is currently engaged in a battle with the disease, a disease that has claimed the lives of so many.

From the Habs:

The Canadiens organization learned in the past weeks that coach consultant Roger Grillo is battling cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleague and our friend. We stand with him and his loved ones during his fight. We fight for Roger.

Prior to joining the Canadiens Grillo has played an extensive and lifelong role as a member of the hockey community as both a player and a coach. Grillo was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks during the 1983 NHL Entry Draft after a successful run with the University of Maine as a player, however he would never lace up his skates in the NHL despite being drafted. Following his career as a player Grillo would begin working as an assistant coach with the University of Vermont before taking on his first head coach role with Brown University. Grillo would serve in the role of head coach for Brown University for well over a decade, mentoring countless young men on their own journeys through the sport of hockey.

This will no doubt be the biggest challenge that Grillo has faced in his life and I wish him and his family nothing but the best as they attempt to tackle this truly insidious disease.