Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine was forced to leave Saturday night's game at Bell Centre against the Toronto Maple Leafs after a knee-on-knee collision with Leafs forward Cedric Pare. Laine needed assistance to reach the bench and went straight to the dressing room for treatment.

Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj quickly came to his teammate's defense, grabbing Pare and delivering a series of punches. However, former Canadiens star and current NHL analyst PK Subban criticized what he sees as a growing lack of “respect” for the league's top players following the incident, via Sports Illustrated.

“This is open ice, penalty kill, preseason folks,” Subban said. “Patrik Laine deserves a lot more respect than the way he was treated last night. And that should have never happened. Where is the respect for NHL superstars? I don’t see it.”

“There can’t be any cheap shots on our superstars,” Subban continued. “Cedric Pare, I didn’t go to the game last night to see him play. I’m paying admission to watch Patrik Laine play, not him. People pay big money to watch the stars play. We got to keep them on the ice. There’s got to be respect in a preseason game.”

Subban has always been outspoken, and he didn't hesitate to share his thoughts on this latest incident, which the Canadiens fear may have resulted in a serious injury to Laine.

No update has been provided on Patrik Laine's condition 

Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine (92) warms up before a game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre.
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Xhekaj was the only player penalized in the incident, receiving a game misconduct and later being fined by the NHL. Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis provided no immediate update on the severity of Laine's injury or how long he might be sidelined, and also voiced his displeasure with the NHL, via Yardbarker:

‘I said it before; the League doesn't care, it just keeps going,” the visibly frustrated St. Louis said. “For us, we have to keep going and that's what we're going to do. We'll see, is this short-term? Long-term? We don't know. He's going to be evaluated and we'll keep going.'

In the meantime, the Canadiens will continue their exhibition schedule when they host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.