Edmonton Oilers forward Colby Cave underwent emergency surgery Tuesday, during which doctors removed a colloid cyst that was causing pressure on his brain, the team announced.
Cave, 25, was admitted to the critical care unit at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto after suffering a brain bleed overnight. He remains in a medically induced coma.
Cave's wife, Emily, said earlier on Instagram that doctors were "fighting to keep him alive'' in surgery. She called Monday and Tuesday the worst days of her life.
"We need a miracle,'' Emily Cave wrote. "Please pray for my husband and best friend.''
In their tweet updating Cave's condition, the Oilers wrote that "Emily & his family ask for continued thoughts & prayers."
Cave, a native of Battleford, Saskatchewan, went undrafted. He signed an entry-level deal with the Boston Bruins in 2015. Cave was claimed off waivers by the Oilers in 2019. He played in 11 games for the Oilers this season, as well as 44 games for the AHL's Bakersfield Condors.
Cave's agent, Jason Davidson, confirmed in an email to The Canadian Press that the situation doesn't appear to be linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Oilers posted Cave's goal -- an impressive rush down the right wing that saw him beat a Pittsburgh defender and stuff the puck past Penguins netminder Matt Murray -- on Twitter.
"Colby is an awesome person who scored an awesome goal for us this season,'' the team said. "The entire Oilers family is sending you all our love and strength right now."
Cave played five seasons with the Western Hockey League's Swift Current Broncos before joining the Bruins organization.
"Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with alum Colby Cave, his wife Emily, his friends, family and all of the lives Caver has touched," the Broncos said on Twitter.
Cave has appeared in 67 NHL games over his career with the Oilers and the Bruins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.