According to a report in Le Journal de Montreal by Valerie Gonthier, former Montreal Canadiens forward and Stanley Cup winner Mario Tremblay was pulled over by police on January 25th, 2013 in Mascouche, who then found that despite chewing his trademark gum, they could smell alcohol on his breath.
Though Tremblay attempted to use his name and job with RDS to get the police to back off and not charge him, once it became clear that this wasn’t going to happen, Tremblay refused to take the breathalyzer test, and told the officer to cuff him.
According to the arresting officer, Tremblay also taunted him, comparing him to various NHL players, most notably P.K. Subban, saying that the officer was like Subban, in that he had no judgement and was stupid.
Tremblay’s lawyers have claimed that he was treated unfairly, and that his rights were violated, but outside of the actual issues Tremblay is facing in regards to the charges, this is an interesting view through the looking glass at what’s behind the kind of comments we hear and read about Subban every day.
Known more for his clash with Patrick Roy that saw the Canadiens enter a decade of dark times with the legendary goalie was later traded away for pennies on the dollar than he is for his playing career, which by the way was an excellent one, Tremblay is no stranger to being dead wrong about generational talents.
However, when you realize how powerful commentators like Tremblay are in regards to shaping the opinions of the average fan, it’s no wonder that there are still people in Quebec who dislike Subban. The genesis of Tremblay’s dislike of Subban is impossible to pin down, but it’s not uncommon on L’Antichambre’s regular panels. For Subban to be what instantly jumps to Tremblay’s mind when he’s looking to insult someone, you have to wonder why. It doesn’t look good on Tremblay.
