Marc Tardif

On June 5, 1973, Tardif signed a three-year contract (speculated to be over $350,000) with the Los Angeles Sharks of the World Hockey Association, one that gave him what he wanted most: a long-term, no-trade, no-cut contract. Tardif specified later that he signed with the league rather than the team, as the way business was done with them involved the money being guaranteed but the full amount for the first year was deposited in a New York bank.^[8] Despite taking until his 10th game to score a goal, he was the Sharks' leading scorer that season, and was named to play for Team Canada in the 1974 Summit Series the following fall.^[9] The Sharks, however, finished with the league's poorest record, and moved to Detroit as the Michigan Stags in April 1974.^[10]

In July of that year, Tardif was selected to play on Team Canada for the 1974 Summit Series, which exclusively had WHA players play the Soviet Union prior to the start of the 1974 WHA season, although he had to miss the start of the series due to attending to his wife, who was due to give birth to their son. Joining the team in the Russia portion of the series, Tardif recorded one total point.^[11] In the Stags home opener on October 29, Tardif scored a goal that tied the game (which ended up with a win in overtime) but found himself booed, with team executives speculating that Michigan fans naturally get on "superstars".^[12] By December, there were rumblings of the franchise possibly folding or relocating. On December 7, Tardif, alongside Steve Sutherland, were traded to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Pierre Guité, Alain Caron, and Michael Rouleau (the Stags moved to Baltimore in January and folded after the season ended).^[13]

In Quebec, Tardif became one of the league's preeminent stars. He finished the 1974–75 WHA season with 50 goals and added a league-leading 10 goals in the playoffs on the road to the Avco Cup Final against the eventual champion Houston Aeros. On December 8, 1975, Tardif signed a contract with Quebec for ten years that was estimated to be worth $1.6 million. Tardif immediately became an icon for the French Canadian locale.^[14][15][16] The next season, he led the WHA in goals, assists and points by wide margins and became only the third professional player to score 70 goals in a single season (after Phil Esposito and Bobby Hull), while the Nordiques rampaged to 50 wins.^[17] Tardif's playoffs were cut short after he incurred serious head injuries in an attack during Game 2 of the Quarterfinals matchup on April 11 against the Calgary Cowboys by enforcer Rick Jodzio, leading to one of the first cases where a hockey player was charged in a court of law for assault. Tardif did not skate for four months and dealt with dizzy spells for a time. So incensed were the Nordiques that they threatened to not play the rest of the playoffs unless the league agreed to their three demands (a lifetime suspension of Jodzio, the suspension of Calgary coach Joe Crozier and the resignation of WHA executive Bud Poile; Quebec ultimately played while Jodzio and Crozier were issued suspensions).^[18][19] On May 26, 1976, Tardif was awarded the league MVP.^[20] Tardif stated in later years that the brawl made him a "more careful player" and teammates stated he was never the same player.^[21][22][23]

Despite doubts that he might not be ready until January 1977, Tardif, now wearing a helmet, came back to form, playing 62 games while only being hindered by a knee injury.^[24] He was named the captain of the Nordiques, and recovered to post another 100-point campaign while leading the team to their only WHA championship, where he logged four goals and ten assists in the playoff run. The 1977–78 WHA season saw him record a historic season. On April 4, 1978, against the Edmonton Oilers in Quebec, Tardif had a four-point night (two goals, two assists), and his assist in the second period made him the second hockey player with 150 points in a season (after Esposito).^[25] It was a professional hockey record that was broken by Wayne Gretzky in the 1980-81 NHL season; Tardif received his second league MVP award. In the 1978 WHA playoffs First Round game versus Houston, Tardif scored the game-winning goal in overtime in Game 2 for what ended up as the last overtime goal scored in the WHA postseason. On July 7, 1978, Tardif was awarded the MVP award by the league for the second time.^[26]

Tardif remained a star when the Nordiques joined the NHL after the WHA folded in 1979, serving as the team's first NHL captain. In the 1979–80 season, Tardif asked for a new contract that saw him make $250,000 a year that would run for three years. In 58 games played, he scored 33 goals while having 35 assists for a total of 68 points.^[27] The 1980–81 season saw him plagued by injuries, being the subject of trade rumors and disagreements with head coach Michel Bergeron. He scored 23 goals with 31 assists in 63 games.^[28][29] He had an All-Star caliber season in 1981, scoring 39 times with 31 assists in 75 games. In his final season, he played 76 games and scored 21 times with 31 assists. His final games as a professional came in the 1983 Stanley Cup playoffs, where he recorded two penalty minutes as the Nordiques lost in four games.

Tardif was left unprotected for the 1983 waiver draft. He announced his retirement on October 3, 1983 before the draft so he would not be selected by another team.^[30] The Nordiques retired his No. 8 jersey in tribute to their first great scoring star on November 1.^[31] He finished his career scoring 316 goals and 350 assists for 666 points in the WHA, and 194 goals and 207 assists for 401 points in the NHL; in the two combined professional leagues, he scored 510 goals and 1,067 points. Despite his achievements, he has not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as of 2026.