Denis Coderre angers Habs by tweeting about Desharnais

Denis Coderre raises hackles The mayor-elect of Montreal says he will not refrain from being a critical hockey fan.

MONTREAL -- Montreal's newly elected mayor, who has a proven knack for getting in the news, has already had his first public run-in with the local hockey team.

Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens.

During last night's game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to Hamilton for David Desharnais please..."

It was a rather run-of-the-mill remark for a regular hockey fan. Countless numbers of them tweet running commentary on Habs games and many have criticized the play of the struggling forward.

But this one drew a little more attention, coming from the mayor.

The team was pushing back at Coderre on Monday. Forward Max Pacioretty called the comment embarrassing. Josh Gorges said it's wrong to kick someone when they're down.

And coach Michel Therrien was quite critical. He may quietly agree with Coderre's assessment of Desharnais' play, given that he's been handing him less icetime lately -- but he doesn't welcome the comment.

"I really believe this is inappropriate from our mayor," said Therrien, who explained that he learned about the comment Monday morning.

Coderre's outspokenness and penchant for grabbing the spotlight is a distant cry from the city's last elected mayor -- the understated, Harvard-educated Gerald Tremblay, who was eventually felled by a controversy over corruption at city hall.

The first week alone has demonstrated that in abundance.

In Coderre's first week since the election, he has already had a run-in with the Parti Quebecois provincial government over its religion charter; with the powerful mayor of Quebec City over a perceived slight to him; and now with the Montreal Canadiens.

He also encouraged embattled Toronto mayor Rob Ford last week to switch to "Diet Coke."