Martin St. Louis makes heartbreaking comments about Patrik Laine.

It was tough to see Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis address the media on Monday morning, especially when it became so clear just how much the injury to Canadiens star forward Patrik Laine was affecting the coach and likely his players as well.

St. Louis spoke to the media after his team hit the ice, a team that included Patrik Laine on the sidelines as well. Much to his credit, Laine showed up to be with his teammates in spite of the fact that he needed crutches to get around and had to remain on the sidelines in a knee brace the entire time.

In his comments, St. Louis did little to hide the fact that the situation was particularly devastating to him given how much work had been put into making Laine comfortable after a long hiatus from hockey in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

"The number one job we had to do with Patty is make him excited to come to the rink, and he was," said a visibly emotional St. Louis.

It would appear that, based on St. Louis' comments on Monday, being a part of Laine's recovery and his return to a love of the game had a tremendous emotional impact on not only St. Louis but on the entire Canadiens organization.

"Seeing Patty coming in like that... makes me feel like we're building a home not just a house," said St. Louis.

Laine's subsequent enthusiasm after the Canadiens had done their job of making him excited to play hockey again only adds to the emotions that St. Louis is feeling at this time.

"So I think it hurt... it stings a little more because I feel he was excited to come to the rink," said St. Louis, again visibly emotional while delivering his remarks.

It's a horrible situation for Laine, St. Louis and the Canadiens as a whole and, based on the gravity of St. Louis comments today, I think we can expect to hear news that Laine is likely to be out for a while.

Stay tuned for all of the updates on this developing story.