Heartbreaking reason for Ethan Bear's absence revealed.

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Ethan Bear was mysteriously absent from Saturday night's game against the Edmonton Oilers, and unfortunately we now know the heartbreaking reason for that absence.

On Friday, Bear's fiance Lenasia made a series of posts on Instagram about the couple's dog named Bronco. Unfortunately Lenasia would reveal that they had tragically lost Bronco on Friday and the news had left Bear so devastated that he simply could not bring himself to play in last night's game.

Here is the message from Lenasia about the passing of Bronco, in full:

We lost a member of our bear family last night. My heart cannot comprehend this devastating loss but I know we will always remember and honour our Bronco he travelled all over with us following Ethan's career and taking care of me and his flower girl while his dad was on the road.

Hold your fur babies close tonight they are the biggest blessing

Lenasia also posted a series of pictures on her Instagram story of herself, Bronco and Ethan at a number of different locations, clearly designed to be a tribute to their lost family member. It is honestly incredibly sad to see that Bronco brought so much joy into their lives while also knowing that he is now gone.

My condolences go out to both Ethan and Lenasia.