Marc Tardif left a legacy of pride in Montreal and also in Quebec, both on and off the ice. His best years were spent at the junior level with Thetford Mines and the Montreal Junior Canadiens. In Thetford Mines, the directors, Émile Couture and Maurice Côté, without forgetting the Bélanger family who hosted him, allowed him to live in a peaceful family context.
He believed that the atmosphere was phenomenal in Thetford Mines, until he joined the Junior Canadians.
His teammates, Gilbert Perreault and Réjean Houle, joined him in the Montreal Junior Canadiens. The team’s success allowed them to play in an incredible atmosphere. The Forum was packed. The journalist from Sunday morning Guy Émond never stopped praising the team’s players. The junior attracted more spectators than the Canadian in the NHL.
Why did he leave the Canadian for the World Hockey Association?
Money on the table
The former second overall draft pick of the Canadiens played four years with the Montreal team and, on two occasions, they won the Stanley Cup. His first contract negotiations with the Canadian were not complicated. He signed for the amount that was offered to him or he returned to work at the Granby Coop. In his last year with the Canadiens, he earned $15,000.
After the season, negotiations began for his next contract. The Canadian offered him $85,000 per year, while the Los Angeles Sharks of the World Hockey Association offered him a three-year contract worth $450,000.
The money was guaranteed no matter what. He returned to see Sam Pollock, general manager of the Canadiens, to see the possibility of making him a new offer. He simply dismissed him out of hand by telling him that the AMH was not for survival. Sam Pollock never anticipated the merger of the two leagues.
Impactful double-check
Oddly, two years later, Claude Ruel, of the Canadiens, offered him a contract similar to the one he had signed in the AMH. The league refused, because its rights belonged to them.
In 1976, with the Nordiques, during a playoff game at the Colisée in Quebec, Rick Jodzio, of the Calgary Cowboys, inflicted a violent double-check on him in the face and continued to hit him with his stick. He fell into a coma and regained consciousness in the ambulance. The consequences of this violent attack were attention problems, difficulty concentrating, memory loss and fatigue. This forced him to stay at home for more than a month.
Even if he retired due to this injury, there was no medical insurance coverage or salary insurance for players. He had no choice but to return to the Nordiques. He admits that he was no longer the combative player he had been, because the fear of getting hurt was always present in his mind. He went to court to prosecute Rick Jodzio for his violent attack. The case was reviewed, and he lost the case.
“My life began once my career ended” – Marc Tardif
You knew how to prepare for your retirement.
Overnight, your life begins. There were more years ahead of me than I played professional hockey. I thought I knew everything, but in reality, I knew nothing.
Your career ended too soon.
At 18, you think you are eternal; at 25, you realize that the years pass quickly; and at 33, my career is over. Companies don’t want to hire you because they think you’ll demand too high a salary.
Who is your business mentor?
Andy Dépatie, from Quebec, had a great influence on my post-career. In 1979, we founded L’École de hockey de la Capitale, which still exists.
You own two car dealerships.
I knew how to prepare for my retirement. Today, I own a Toyota and KIA dealership.
Are you still involved?
Always involved and I can count on my son, Marc-André, to manage the dealerships. I take advantage of Florida in the winter to play golf and see my friends, including former Canadian player Claude Larose, who helped me a lot in my early days with the Canadian.
You were born in Saint-Méthode, near Thetford Mines.
The place where the famous St-Méthode bread bakery is established. When he was three, the family moved to Granby.
You were raised in poverty.
My father, Lionel, was a milkman in Granby and then a janitor, while my mother, Rosanne, was at home to take care of us. But she made a huge sacrifice to allow me to play hockey.
Your parents had four children.
I have two brothers, Allain and Yves, and unfortunately my younger sister died at the age of three.
You went to see Bobby Orr play at the Forum.
I was barely 10 years old and he was 14 when I saw him in action for the first time with the Oshawa Generals against the Junior Canadians. Many years later, I realized that there were barely 1500 spectators at his match while our junior team filled the Forum.
You attended Collège Laval.
A Marist brother saw me play hockey in Granby. He met with my parents to find out if they were interested in enrolling me at Collège Laval, because it had an excellent hockey program.
Would you like to share with us your mother’s sacrifice?
My parents did not have the means to pay for my education or my stay at Collège Laval, because I only returned home on weekends. Mom went into the job market to pay for my studies. It’s a gesture that still touches me a lot today. Without her, I would never have been able to play professional hockey.
Pierre Bouchard helped you a lot.
Pierre Bouchard, Pierre Jarry and I played at Collège Laval. One day in the players’ locker room, Pierre Bouchard approached me to ask me my age, because the Canadiens scouts were asking him. Shyly, I told him that I was 15 years old.
The Canadian drafted you to play with the Canadian junior Thetford Mines.
The following year, the Canadian drafted me to play with the Canadian junior Thetford Mines. To persuade my parents to let me go play in Thetford Mines, the Canadian confirmed that my accommodation and my studies would be free. Among my teammates, there were Réjean Houle and Gilbert Perreault, and subsequently we found ourselves with the junior Canadian from Montreal.
What were your summer jobs?
Who else but my mother to find me a job, that is to say two jobs! I worked as a deliveryman for Coca-Cola and for the Molson brewery.
You and Réjean Houle didn’t speak English.
The general manager of the Junior Canadiens, Phil Wimmer, was not known for his generosity. The Forum was full, while the players’ pockets were empty. Knowing which family was hosting you was not a priority for him. We lived with an English-speaking family who did not speak French.
The team’s goalie came to your rescue.
Bruce Mullett went to see Mr. Wimmer to tell him that he had found a French-speaking family in Verdun who wanted to host us. His gesture was very appreciated.
Jean Béliveau was a mentor for you.
When I joined the Canadiens, Mr. Béliveau came to wish me good luck and reminded me that he was always available to help me. When we played outside of Montreal, the veterans invited the young people to the restaurant.
Maurice Filion carried out some raiding before welcoming you.
I was still in the AMH, but with Detroit where I didn’t want to play. Maurice contacted me, even though I was from Detroit, to see if I wanted to play for the Nordiques. I reassured him that I was interested. A few days later, I found myself traded to the Nordiques.
Marc Tardif (left) fights for the puck against Guy Lafleur (right).
Archive photo from Journal de Québec
What was it like playing in Quebec City?
Over the years, it is without a doubt the best thing that has happened in my life. I still consider myself privileged today to have represented this magnificent city of Quebec.
You removed your son from the minor hockey program.
Often, parents would harass my son or players would try to intimidate him because he wore the name Tardif on his jersey. When he was 8 years old, I took him out of the hockey program.
You share beautiful moments with your family.
The support of my partner, Lisette, for 25 years, and the love that reigns in the family are good reasons to be happy. My daughters, Mélanie, Catherine, and my son, Marc-André, are prosperous in business. The conquests of the Avco Cup and the Stanley Cup were for our fans from Quebec and Montreal.