View: Previous | Next
| 1983 NHL DRAFT PICK |
 |
John Kordic
Selected in
fourth round
No. 78 overall by
Montreal Canadiens
Born March 22, 1965. Died
August 8, 1992
 | Position:
Defense
Height: 6-2 Weight:
190
|
|
| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Portland (WHL)
Birthplace:
Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)
Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta |
 |
 |
|
| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1981-82 |
Edmonton | Alb. AA |
48 | 23 |
41 | 64 |
178 | | 1982-83 |
Portland | WHL |
72 | 3 |
22 | 25 |
235 |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
Memorial Cup: 1983 (Portland)
Miscellaneous: Led Portland with 235 penalty-minutes in 1982-83. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: December 7, 1985 (Montreal at
Toronto)
Numbers: 31 (Montreal); 27
(Toronto); 25 (Washington); 44 (Quebec)
Stanley Cup: 1986.
Playing Status:
Career ended by death |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | |
1985-1991 |
MON, TOR, WAS, QUE | 244 |
17 | 18 |
35 | 997 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | |
1986-1990 |
Montreal, Toronto | 41 |
4 | 3 |
7 | 131 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Toronto
Penalty-Minutes
Leader: 1988-89 (185, tie)
Toronto Playoffs
Penalty-Minutes Leader: 1990 (33)
1988-89: Played six regular-season games for Montreal team that went
to 1989 Stanley Cup Finals, but was traded away before playoffs.
Miscellaneous: Played on line with Brian Skrudland and Mike McPhee for
Montreal in 1985-86. ... Suspended by NHL for five games and fined $100 for
fighting Gord Donnelly prior to Montreal's Feb. 23, 1988, game vs. Quebec.
Kordic's feud with Donnelly dated back three
days to Quebec's Feb. 20, 1988, game at Montreal, when the players fought
as soon as the puck was dropped. When they lined up for the opening faceoff on
Feb. 23, they didn't even wait that long. Kordic and Donnelly were ejected and fined $100, while both teams received
$25,000 fines. On Feb. 25, 1988, the NHL held a hearing for Donnelly and Quebec
coach Ron Lapointe. At the hearing, NHL vice president Brian O'Neill suspended Donnelly for five games
and fined Lapointe $1,000. Kordic and Montreal coach Jean Perron were given
the same punishment after a hearing with O'Neill on Feb. 26, 1988. As a
result of the suspension, Kordic missed Montreal's games from Feb. 27, 1988,
through March 9, 1988. ... Bruised left ankle when he crashed his $54,000
Corvette into another car in downtown Toronto on Nov. 20, 1989, but did not
miss any games. ... Suspended one game by NHL (automatic suspension) during
1989-90 season for receiving his third game misconduct of the season during
Toronto's Nov. 23, 1989, game at Boston. ... Suspended two games by NHL
(automatic suspension) and fined $500 for attacking Mike Modano during
Toronto's Jan. 24, 1990, game vs. Minnesota. Following the game, Kordic told
reporters he had been looking to give Modano "payback" for previous hits on
Toronto players. The league therefore determined, after a Jan. 31, 1990,
hearing, that Kordic's attack was premeditated and required an extra
two-game suspension, bringing the total to four games. The second suspension
was announced on Feb. 2, 1990, and the Maple Leafs appealed for a seven-day
grace period. Kordic served the suspension by sitting out games from Feb. 9,
1990, through Feb. 13, 1990. ... Set Toronto single-season record (since
broken) for penalty minutes by right wing with 252 in 1989-90. ... Hired
agent Howard Gourwitz in December 1990 when it appeared he might not be able
to resume his NHL career due to his negative reputation. Gourwitz brokered a
trade that enabled Kordic to resume playing in Washington. ... Ordered
by Washington to spend eight days in a rehab center after he missed a
practice in early February 1991. ... Suspended indefinitely without pay by
Washington on March 2, 1991, after failing to show up for game vs. N.Y.
Islanders. Capitals coach Terry Murray determined that Kordic had a
"big-time problem" and did not belong on the team at a time when he
desperately needed help for his alcoholism. The suspension ended Kordic's
1990-91 season. ... Signed with Quebec as an unrestricted free agent on
Oct. 4, 1991. ... Missed part of 1991-92 season with the flu, an illness
contracted in December 1991. ... Was honored posthumously by NHL player
Shayne Corson, who began wearing No. 27 as a tribute to his former Canadiens
teammate.
Bizarre Feud: After leaving Montreal in November
1988, Kordic landed in a controversy with former Montreal coach Pat Burns.
The dispute stemmed from a Dec. 22, 1988, Boston Globe story in which Burns
was quoted as saying that Kordic was "a problem." Burns allegedly claimed
Kordic had threatened to slap former Canadiens coach Perron if he did not
get more ice time. Burns backed off the comments about Perron after Kordic
admitted to a long-term dispute with the ex-coach, but said there was never
any sort of physical threat involved. Burns continued to claim that Kordic
had used the same intimidation tactics on him after he took over the team.
Burns said he once threw an ashtray at Kordic out of fear that Kordic was
coming into his office to attack him. Kordic denied the ashtray incident had
ever happened.
Kordic's Big Suspension: The NHL suspended Kordic
for 10 games during the 1988-89 season after he broke Keith Acton's nose
with a cross-check during Toronto's Dec. 14, 1988, game vs.
Edmonton. The incident happened just 22 seconds into the third period, when Kordic chased Acton across the ice and then cross-checked him in the face in
an angry reaction to being slashed. Kordic initially received an automatic two-game
suspension, subject to league review, because it was his third stick-related major of the season. NHL
vice-president Brian O'Neill later reviewed the incident and conducted a
hearing at the league offices on Dec. 21, 1988. After the hearing, O'Neill
officially extended Kordic's suspension to 10 games, forcing Kordic to miss
Toronto's 10 games played between Dec. 21, 1988, and Jan. 11, 1989.
The Death of John Kordic:
Throughout his NHL career, John Kordic's battle with alcoholism was no
secret. It led to multiple trips to rehab centers, multiple suspensions by
his NHL teams and a reputation as one of the biggest "problem" players in
the entire league. Kordic's coaches and teammates often accused him of being
so selfish that he never worried about team concerns, and toward the end of
his career, he was sent home from the minor leagues because he was said to
be infecting young players with his bad attitude. Nevertheless, it was a
shock and a tragedy when Kordic's addiction finally brought about his death
at age 27 in August 1992. In the two weeks before his life ended, Kordic
knew he was in danger of drinking himself to death. In late July 1992, he
phoned James Fearing, his Minneapolis based addiction counselor, and asked
Fearing to visit him in Quebec City, where he was preparing for a
training-camp tryout with Edmonton. While working out with his friend Tony
Twist, Kordic began to worry that he was falling off the wagon, and he told
Fearing that despite all of his efforts he did not think he could defeat his
addiction. Fearing agreed to come to Quebec in mid-August 1992, but that
would prove to be too late. On Aug. 8, Kordic died from heart failure and a
buildup of fluid in his lungs. Doctors said the condition resulted from
Kordic's mixing alcohol, drugs and steroids during his training. On the
final night of his life, Kordic was staying in a motel in the Quebec suburb
of L'Ancienne-Lorette. He had checked into the hotel earlier than day with
bruises all over his body and blood on his hands. He was also short of
breath, according to the hotel manager. At 9 p.m., a distressed Kordic
called the front desk, slurring his words as he tried to get someone to call
his fiancee, Nancy Masse, a local stripper who Kordic had been charged with
assaulting on July 16, 1992, leading to the scheduling of a preliminary
court hearing on Aug. 11, 1992. The hotel manager could not reach Masse, so
she sent her brother to Kordic's room to see if he needed help. When the man
reached Kordic's room, Kordic was in a rage and had already trashed his
room. He then violently accused the man of planting drugs on him. The man called police, who reached the motel just
after 10 p.m. Two local officers and seven provincial officers entered the
room to try to restrain Kordic, but he wrestled several of them to the
ground and punched all others who came at him. The nine officers finally
pinned Kordic to the ground, handcuffed him and took him to a hospital.
Kordic lost consciouness on the ambulance and eventually died. The coroner
later suggested Kordic might have lived if medics had administered oxygen
earlier in the process. Although his
final irrational rage was likely related to his steroid usage, it was clear
that Kordic's body had given out after years of alcohol and drug abuse.
Kordic was buried in Edmonton on Aug. 13, 1992, and in the wake of his death
it was reported that he had a long-term cocaine addiction and was also known
for using steroids throughout his career. A recount of Kordic's entire life
was later the subject of a 1995 book by Mark Zwolinski titled The John
Kordic Story: The Fight of His Life. The book's film rights were sold to
a Canadian production company 2001 with plans to make a movie directed by
Canadian Bruce McDonald. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
Portland, Seattle (WHL); Sherbrooke (AHL); Newmarket (AHL); Cape Breton (AHL)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
AHL Calder Cup: 1985 (Sherbrooke)
WHL West
Division All-Star Second Team: 1984-85 (Port.-Seattle)
1986-87: Played on AHL regular-season champion (Sherbrooke).
Miscellaneous: Traded by Portland (WHL)
to Seattle in exchange for Jim Agnew in December 1984. ... Was converted
from his natural position of defense to right wing upon entering pro hockey
ranks in 1985. He played both right wing and left wing for the remainder of his career.
... Suspended two games by AHL (automatic suspension) for making an obscene
gesture toward fans during Newmarket's
Nov. 1, 1990, game at Capital District. ... Suspended two games by AHL for
spitting on a referee in November 1990. ... Suspended by Newmarket (AHL) on
Dec. 5, 1990. The Toronto organization later told Kordic to go home because
he was a bad influence on young prospects. The Leafs said they would work to
trade Kordic, which they eventually did on Jan. 24, 1991, sending him to
Washington with Paul Fenton in exchange for 1991 fifth-round pick (Alexei
Kudashov). ... Entered a
60-day program at a drug and alcohol rehab clinic on March 26, 1991. ...
Lived with fellow alcoholic and teammate Bryan Fogarty during his season
with Quebec after both players had completed a 1991 rehab program.
Personal: Full name is John Nick
Kordic. ... Older brother of former NHL player Dan Kordic. ... Nephew of a Yugoslavian pro soccer player. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE:
Montreal traded Kordic and 1989 sixth-round pick (Michael Doers) to Toronto
for Russ Courtnall on November 7, 1988. |
|
|
Visit the new
Hockey Draft Central |
HockeyDraftCentral.com is in the middle of rebuilding. You are looking at a page
that is not yet updated but is still part of the old site. Check out the new look.
• New Home Page
|
|
SNAPSHOT '83 | | Total Selected: |
242 | | Forwards: |
134 | | Defense: |
86 | | Goaltenders: |
22 | | Major Junior: |
122 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
19/5 | | College Players: |
15 | | High School: |
47 |
| Canadian: |
148 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
0 | | USA Citizens: |
60 | | U.S.-Born: |
60 |
| European: |
34 |
| Reached NHL: |
113 |
| Stanley Cup: |
21 | | Hall of Fame: |
4 |
| All-Star Game: |
20 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
7 |
| Olympians: |
34 |
| Picks Traded: |
41 |
|
| 