Brendan Gallagher gets surprise of a lifetime from fan after losing his mom.

This is what the sport of hockey and the hockey community at large is really all about.

Montreal Canadiens veteran forward Brendan Gallagher made a heartbreaking announcement this month when he announced that his mother, Della, had passed away after a battle with brain cancer. Gallagher was of course a fierce supporter of his mother throughout her battle and as you would expect the news left the young man devastated.

Much to his credit, Gallagher did a wonderful job of honoring his mother by scoring a goal, tapping his heart, and pointing to the sky and his comments about the women to the media were even more beautiful.

"She did an unbelievable job," said Gallagher of his mother's battle with cancer. "They originally gave her 6 to 18 months to live. The amount of time that we were able to spend with her and get with her, the treatment she got, the doctors she got, I’m really proud of her fight. I’m really proud of everything she did for us, she was so strong, so courageous, you know really just the best mom. You know just in the last 3 years, there are so many memories that we’re thankful for, grateful for. Our whole lives, she really did so much for us. As a family it’s the hardest thing but in the end you try to cherish the memories that you do have."

Despite the emotions that must have been overwhelming him at the time Gallagher remained stoic as he delivered the remarks, smiling as he looked back fondly on the memories of his mother.

Unsurprisingly this story spread like wildfire through the hockey community and I am happy to report that it has resulted in an outpouring of love and support from all corners of that very same community. I did want to take a moment however to highlight one particularly beautiful gesture, a gesture that was made by a die hard Canadiens fan named Lucie Lachance.

You see Lucie had previously purchased a Hockey Fights Cancer-themed jersey that had been worn by Gallagher himself in support of his mom, the last time he had worn such a jersey on the ice, and she rushed to social media to offer to give it back to the man himself, entirely free of charge.

This wasn't some small gesture either as Lucie had to give up a considerable sum to win the jersey in the first place, paying $1500 knowing that the proceeds would be going to a good cause. When asked why she would so willingly give up something so valuable, Lucie had a wonderful response.

"My heart was telling me that this jersey had to return to the family," said Lucie during a French language interview with BPM Sports radio. "It's important to me to give it to him and his family so it stays with them, a souvenir of their mother."

It was an incredible display of love and kindness on the part of Lucie and I couldn't be happier to report that the message did in fact reach the Canadiens forward. Gallagher has since responded to her generous offer, and as it turns out it may end up creating a wonderful moment that we will all get the chance to share in.

Gallagher, who was clearly touched by the gesture, has since offered Lucie a jersey swap, indicating that he will replace the jersey she is giving up with a new one, but has offered to do so during the Canadiens final game of the regular season... on the ice. That's right it sounds like Lucie will get the chance to walk out on the ice at the Bell Centre for the Canadiens final home game of the season as a result of her beautiful gesture, and I think everyone can agree that this is a special moment she has definitely earned.