Mario Tremblay
Encyclopedia
Mario Tremblay is a former professional ice hockey
player and former coach in the National Hockey League
(NHL). He was honoured by his hometown (Alma, Quebec
), who named is local arena Le Centre "Mario-Tremblay".
for his entire NHL playing career (1974 to 1986), and was also the coach of the club from 1995 until his resignation in 1997, winning five Stanley Cup
championships with the team as a player in 1976
, 1977
, 1978
, 1979
, and 1986
. Although his playing days have been overshadowed by his controversial coaching career, Tremblay is 10th on the Montreal Canadiens all time list for plus-minus at 184.
In 852 regular season games in the NHL, he scored 258 goals and added 326 assists for 584 points, with 1043 penalty minutes.
, which eventually led to Roy's departure from Montreal. The two had almost come to blows in a Long Island coffee shop before Tremblay was announced as a coach and his first appearance in the dressing room was greeted with snickers from Roy. They almost fought a second time after Tremblay fired a shot at Roy's throat during practice, by which point it was only a matter of time before the hot-tempered Tremblay and his star goalie reached the point of no return.
Tremblay kept Patrick Roy
in net during a December 2, 1995, game versus the Detroit Red Wings
, in which the Wings scored 9 goals on Roy, who was jeered by the Montreal fans. Roy stormed off the ice and told team president Ronald Corey
that it was the last game he would play for the Canadiens. Four days later, Roy was traded to Colorado with captain Mike Keane
for Jocelyn Thibault
, Martin Rucinsky
and Andrei Kovalenko
. Roy went on to lead the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup twice before retiring.
Nearly a year later, Tremblay also had a heated verbal exchange with Canadiens enforcer Donald Brashear
during a team practice prior to a game against the Avalanche in Denver. Brashear was later traded to the Vancouver Canucks
.
As a head coach for Montreal, Tremblay coached 159 games, with 71 wins, 63 losses and 25 ties across two years with the team. Prior to his 2009–10 hiring as assistant-coach of the New Jersey Devils, Tremblay served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Wild. In both jobs, he was an assistant coach to Jacques Lemaire. After Lemaire retired in 2010, Tremblay was not retained as assistant coach. He then joined the Quebec sport network RDS as a hockey analyst for the Montreal Canadiens games.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player and former coach in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL). He was honoured by his hometown (Alma, Quebec
Alma, Quebec
Alma is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec.-Geography:Alma is located on the southeast coast of Lac Saint-Jean where it flows into the Saguenay River, in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, approximately 175 km north of Quebec City...
), who named is local arena Le Centre "Mario-Tremblay".
Playing career
Tremblay, nicknamed "Le bleuet bionique" (The Bionic Blueberry), played with the Montreal CanadiensMontreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
for his entire NHL playing career (1974 to 1986), and was also the coach of the club from 1995 until his resignation in 1997, winning five Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
championships with the team as a player in 1976
1976 Stanley Cup Finals
-References:...
, 1977
1977 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1977 Stanley Cup Final championship series was contested by the Boston Bruins and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens. The Bruins were making their first appearance in the Final series since their loss in the 1974 Final. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to none,...
, 1978
1978 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1978 Stanley Cup Final championship series was contested by the Boston Bruins and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, making their third-straight appearance. The series was a rematch of the 1977 final...
, 1979
1979 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1979 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the New York Rangers and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, making their fourth straight appearance. It was New York's first appearance since . The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win...
, and 1986
1986 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1986 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Calgary Flames in their first Final appearance and the Montreal Canadiens in their 32nd. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win their twenty-third Stanley Cup, and their seventeenth in their...
. Although his playing days have been overshadowed by his controversial coaching career, Tremblay is 10th on the Montreal Canadiens all time list for plus-minus at 184.
In 852 regular season games in the NHL, he scored 258 goals and added 326 assists for 584 points, with 1043 penalty minutes.
Coaching career
Tremblay was hired four games into the 1995–96 season as head coach of the Canadiens although he had no previous coaching experience. As coach, he developed a long running dispute with star goaltender Patrick RoyPatrick Roy
Patrick Edward Armand Roy is a former Canadian ice hockey goaltender. Nicknamed "Saint Patrick," Roy split his professional career between the Montreal Canadiens, whom he played with for 10 years, and the Colorado Avalanche, whom he played with for 8 years, both of the National Hockey League...
, which eventually led to Roy's departure from Montreal. The two had almost come to blows in a Long Island coffee shop before Tremblay was announced as a coach and his first appearance in the dressing room was greeted with snickers from Roy. They almost fought a second time after Tremblay fired a shot at Roy's throat during practice, by which point it was only a matter of time before the hot-tempered Tremblay and his star goalie reached the point of no return.
Tremblay kept Patrick Roy
Patrick Roy
Patrick Edward Armand Roy is a former Canadian ice hockey goaltender. Nicknamed "Saint Patrick," Roy split his professional career between the Montreal Canadiens, whom he played with for 10 years, and the Colorado Avalanche, whom he played with for 8 years, both of the National Hockey League...
in net during a December 2, 1995, game versus the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
, in which the Wings scored 9 goals on Roy, who was jeered by the Montreal fans. Roy stormed off the ice and told team president Ronald Corey
Ronald Corey
Ronald Corey, CM is a Canadian businessman and former professional ice hockey executive with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League . In 1991, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.-Businessman:...
that it was the last game he would play for the Canadiens. Four days later, Roy was traded to Colorado with captain Mike Keane
Mike Keane
Michael John Keane is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey winger. Undrafted, Keane played over 1100 games in the National Hockey League from 1988 until 2004, and then played five seasons for his hometown Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League until he retired in 2010...
for Jocelyn Thibault
Jocelyn Thibault
Jocelyn Thibault is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres...
, Martin Rucinsky
Martin Rucinsky
Martin Ručinský is a Czech professional ice hockey player currently playing for HC Litvínov of the Czech Extraliga. Ručínský was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round as the 20th overall selection in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft on June 22, 1991. Ručinský led the Montreal Canadiens in...
and Andrei Kovalenko
Andrei Kovalenko
Andrei Nikolaevich Kovalenko is a retired professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes and the Boston Bruins...
. Roy went on to lead the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup twice before retiring.
Nearly a year later, Tremblay also had a heated verbal exchange with Canadiens enforcer Donald Brashear
Donald Brashear
Donald Brashear is an American-Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who is currently a member of the Rivière-du-Loup CIMT in the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey . He previously played for five organizations in the National Hockey League . His main role is that of an enforcer. He was...
during a team practice prior to a game against the Avalanche in Denver. Brashear was later traded to the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
.
As a head coach for Montreal, Tremblay coached 159 games, with 71 wins, 63 losses and 25 ties across two years with the team. Prior to his 2009–10 hiring as assistant-coach of the New Jersey Devils, Tremblay served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Wild. In both jobs, he was an assistant coach to Jacques Lemaire. After Lemaire retired in 2010, Tremblay was not retained as assistant coach. He then joined the Quebec sport network RDS as a hockey analyst for the Montreal Canadiens games.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1972–73 1972–73 QMJHL season The 1972–73 QMJHL season was the fourth season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The summer of 1972 saw the departure of the Saint-Jérôme Alouettes and the Verdun Maple Leafs from the league, reducing the circuit to eight teams... |
Montreal Red White and Blue | QMJHL | 56 | 43 | 37 | 80 | 155 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 1973–74 QMJHL season The 1973–74 QMJHL season was the fifth season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. East and west divisions resumed with the addition of two new teams, the Hull Festivals and Chicoutimi Saguenéens... |
Montreal Red White and Blue | QMJHL | 46 | 49 | 51 | 100 | 154 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 1974–75 AHL season The 1974–75 AHL season was the 39th season of the American Hockey League. Ten teams were scheduled to play 76 games each in the schedule, but the Baltimore Clippers were unable to complete the season. The Providence Reds finished first overall in the regular season... |
Nova Scotia Voyageurs Nova Scotia Voyageurs The Nova Scotia Voyageurs were a professional ice hockey team, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They played in the American Hockey League, from 1971 to 1984. The Voyageurs played their first two seasons , as the Montreal Voyageurs.... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
15 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... |
NHL | 63 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 108 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 1975–76 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 71 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 88 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | ||
| 1976–77 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 74 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 61 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 1977–78 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 56 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 44 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 16 | ||
| 1978–79 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 76 | 30 | 29 | 59 | 74 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 13 | ||
| 1979–80 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 105 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 14 | ||
| 1980–81 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 25 | 38 | 63 | 123 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 1981–82 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 33 | 40 | 73 | 66 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 24 | ||
| 1982–83 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 30 | 37 | 67 | 87 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 1983–84 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 67 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 112 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 31 | ||
| 1984–85 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 75 | 31 | 35 | 66 | 120 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 30 | ||
| 1985–86 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 56 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 852 | 258 | 326 | 584 | 1043 | 101 | 20 | 29 | 49 | 187 | ||||
Coaching record
| Team | |Regular season | MTL Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... |
1995–96 | 77 | 40 | 27 | 10 | 90 | 3rd in Northeast Northeast Division (NHL) The NHL's Northeast Division was formed in 1993 as part of the Eastern Conference in a league realignment, the predecessor of which was the Adams Division... |
Lost in first round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTL | 1996–97 | 82 | 31 | 36 | 15 | 77 | 4th in Northeast | Lost in first round | ||
| Total | 159 | 71 | 63 | 25 | 167 | |||||
External links
- http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1974/74012.html