Marc Bergevin halts his own press conference to deliver an emotional message.

We, and by we I mean hockey fans, like to brag a great deal about the quality of professional athlete our sport tends to generate. The list of great men, both on and off the ice, that have played in the National Hockey League is far too long to list and no doubt that is thanks in large part to the wonderful culture and community that has evolved around our sport. 

On Monday, Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, a former player himself, served up the most recent example of that wonderful culture and community when he led off what was an impromptu press conference with an incredible act of kindness. The name Jean-Francois Chaumont may not mean a great deal to many of you, but he is a journalist that for years now has covered the Canadiens and as a result has often interacted with members of the Canadiens staff and Bergevin himself. Over the weekend Mr. Chaumont and his family were devastated when his mother suffered a stroke and passed away, leaving him unable to attend the press conference on Monday.

As the conference was set to begin Bergevin interrupted a man, who was offscreen at the time and was about to prompt the first question, to deliver the following message:

"Excuse me Paul, I would like to say a word first," said Bergevin delivering the remarks in French. "My sincere condolences go out to the family of J-F Chaumont, his mother died yesterday. J-F my condolences to you and your family."

It was an unexpectedly emotional moment at the start of what was expected to be a significant press conference for the Canadiens, but Bergevin would go on to reveal what may have been the motivation behind him making so public a statement. Of course his concern for Mr. Chaumont and his family were front and center but Bergevin's own mother passed away from a stroke herself not so long ago and she did so at the very same hospital in St-Eustache where Chaumont's mother passed, no doubt making this hit very close to home for the Canadiens GM.

"We have something in common, our mother's died in the same fashion at the same hospital, so my thoughts are with you and your family," concluded Bergevin. 

The good news is that Mr. Chaumont has seen the message and since replied, thank both Bergevin and the Canadiens for their kindness.

If you'd like to see it with your own eyes, the moment happens at the very beginning of this ~45 minute press conference which you can watch below.