Luc Tardif steps down from IIHF presidency after turbulent five-year term

Luc Tardif is nearing the end of a demanding run as president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The Quebec-born executive will formally hand over the presidency to his successor on October 2, during the federation’s semi-annual congress being held this week in Tenerife, Spain.

From Trois-Rivières to the top of international hockey

Now 73, Tardif was elected IIHF president in September 2021 after a tumultuous campaign. German candidate Franz Reindl had been seen as the front-runner before allegations of corruption surfaced on the eve of the vote, opening the door for Tardif. His rise to the job capped a long path that began with university hockey in Trois-Rivières in the 1970s, a pro career in France and successive leadership roles in minor hockey, club management, a domestic league and the French federation.

His term began just as the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic was receding but quickly ran into another crisis. Within months of his election, the NHL pulled its players out of the Beijing Olympic men’s tournament, leaving the IIHF to rapidly rebuild national team rosters. Tardif has recalled that the change meant finding roughly 120 replacement players on short notice.

Russia’s status, Ukraine’s rise and NHL tensions

The war in Ukraine, launched days after the 2022 Olympics, led to Russia’s exclusion from major IIHF events. That decision still dominates the end of Tardif’s tenure, with the Russian Ice Hockey Federation preparing to challenge its suspensions at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the coming weeks.

A Russian return would complicate the IIHF’s promotion and relegation ladder. Ukraine has earned promotion to the top division and is slated to play at the 2027 IIHF World Championship in Germany, its first appearance in the main group in two decades. Any move to reinsert Russia would immediately raise the issue of which country would be pushed out, a politically charged question that Tardif will leave to his successor and to CAS rulings.

The Olympic file has also consumed much of his attention, from difficult negotiations with the NHL over player participation to delays at Milan’s Santagiulia arena, which was still being finalized as teams began training. Tardif points to the Canada–United States men’s final as a defining memory, not only for the level of play but for the relief of seeing the ice surface hold up after fears of technical issues.

Lyon 2030, 2028 World Cup friction and Hockey Canada dispute

The next IIHF president will inherit a busy calendar. The 2030 Olympic hockey tournaments are scheduled for Lyon in an already built venue, with the 2028 IIHF World Championship serving as a test event two years ahead of the Games. While NHL participation at the 2030 Olympics is nominally agreed, the league’s plan to stage a World Cup of Hockey in Europe in 2028, three months before the worlds, remains a major sticking point in IIHF–NHL relations.

Tardif’s final weeks have also been overshadowed by a clash with Hockey Canada. He laments that the Canadian federation bypassed the IIHF by striking a commercial deal with equipment manufacturer Bauer directly, a story first reported by Radio-Canada journalist Martin Leclerc. Tardif insists he will carry out his responsibilities to the end despite the dispute.

Retirement will be partial rather than total. With France set to host the IIHF World Championship in two years and the Olympic hockey tournaments four years from now, Tardif plans to remain involved with the French federation. He speaks of leaving the IIHF presidency with both nostalgia and relief after a role he describes as all-consuming and deeply entangled with global politics as much as with the sport itself.