Luc Tardif | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Tardif in 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 March 1953 Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Sales engineer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Known for | International Ice Hockey Federation president, French Ice Hockey Federation past-president | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3, incl. Luc Tardif Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Luc Tardif (born 29 March 1953) is a Canadian-born French ice hockey executive, and former professional ice hockey player. A native of Trois-Rivières, he played junior ice hockey in Quebec, then was an all-star player for the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. During his professional career, he became a naturalized citizen of France, won two Nationale A League titles, and won the Charles Ramsay Trophy four times with Chamonix HC as the league's top scorer. Later in his career, he was a player-coach for the Dragons de Rouen, then served as the team's vice-president and oversaw the youth hockey program.
Tardif served as head of the hockey for the French Ice Sports Federation from 2000 to 2006, then negotiated to establish the French Ice Hockey Federation (FFHG) as an independent body. As the inaugural president of the FFHG from 2006 to 2021, he imposed a salary cap to prevent teams from filing for bankruptcy; oversaw expansion and upgrades of arenas in the Ligue Magnus, and relocation of the French Cup final to Paris to increase its attendance. He led fundraising to open the Aren'Ice as a national training facility in 2016, and the transition of Ligue Magnus teams from sports associations into teams with a professional structure. He also served with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee as the head of mission for France at the Olympics during the 2014 and 2018 Winter Games, and promoted the 2024 Summer Olympics bid for Paris.
Tardif was elected to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) council in 2010, appointed its treasurer in 2012, then became its finance committee chairman in 2016. He was elected president of the IIHF in 2021, on a campaign to make it a non-political body, and to fight doping in sport and racism. He stated desires to combine Division 1 at the Ice Hockey World Championships to have a larger event, to encourage top-tier coaches to teach in developing countries, and to expand three-on-three ice hockey targeted at youths. He also sought for the National Hockey League to allow its players to participate in ice hockey at the Olympic Games, and to co-ordinate schedules for the Kontinental Hockey League and other European leagues to benefit players attending the Olympics.