Former Habs coach Mario Tremblay is seen in this 1997 photo announcing his resignation as head coach of the Montreal CanadiensRobert Galbraith/The Canadian Press
Former Montreal Canadiens coach and player Mario Tremblay is facing allegations that he made a derogatory remark about the team's current star defenceman, P.K. Subban, after he tried in vain to talk his way out of a drunk-driving arrest.
Tremblay told a police patroller who stopped him for speeding that he was showing poor judgment, just like Subban, Le Journal de Montréal is reporting.
The revelation came out during testimony Thursday in a suburban municipal court near Montreal.
According to Le Journal, Constable Maxime Perron, a police officer in the town of Mascouche, told the court that he intercepted Tremblay on Jan. 25, driving at 79 kilometres per hour in a 50 zone.
The police officer testified that even though Tremblay was chewing gum there was a smell of alcohol on his breath.
Perron said Tremblay protested when the officer asked for a breathalyzer test.
"You can't do that to me, I am Mario Tremblay," Perron quoted the former coach as saying.
Perron said Tremblay then started insulting him when he placed him under arrest.
"He compared me to some hockey players, [saying] that I was like `a P.K. Subban', that I had no judgment and that I was being petty."
He said Tremblay also made a finger gesture as if he was zipping up his lips to indicate he wouldn't cooperate with the breathalyzer test.
A scrappy forward nicknamed "The Bionic Blueberry," Tremblay played 12 seasons with the Canadiens, including the four Stanley Cup winning teams of the late 1970s.
He also coached the team in the 1990s, during a two-season stint mostly remembered for his clashes with Patrick Roy which eventually forced the team to trade the celebrated goaltender.
More recently, Tremblay has been a TV sports commentator.
Tu Thanh Ha