John Nicholas Kordic (March 22, 1965 – August 8, 1992) was a Canadian ice hockey player in the National Hockey League.
Hockey career Kordic played for the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals and Quebec Nordiques, for a total of seven seasons in the NHL. He won the Memorial Cup with the Portland Winter Hawks in 1983, the Calder Cup with the Sherbrooke Canadiens in 1985, and a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986. While playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, he wore No. 27, formerly worn by Leaf players Darryl Sittler and Frank Mahovlich. Kordic was known as an enforcer on the ice.
In 1992, he moved back to Quebec after finishing the season with the Cape Breton Oilers, the top farm team of the Edmonton Oilers, and expressed hope that he could turn his life around if he could catch on with his hometown team.
Personal life Kordic was of Croatian heritage. At the time of Kordic's death he was engaged to marry a former exotic dancer named Nancy Masse, who used to work at a Quebec club called Le Folichon, less than a kilometre from where he died. Kordic's brother, Dan, played for the Philadelphia Flyers organization in the 1990s.
Death On August 8, 1992, after overdosing on drugs and being involved in a struggle with police at Motel Maxim in L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, Kordic died of lung failure due to heart malfunction.HOCKEY; He Skated on the Ice, Then Fell Through It New York TimesAll roads lead to hockey: reports from northern Canada to the Mexican border William T. Boyd University of Nebraska Press
Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1982–83 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 72 3 22 25 235 14 1 6 7 30 1983–84 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 67 9 50 59 232 14 0 3 3 56 1984–85 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 4 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 0 11 1984–85 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 25 6 22 28 73 — — — — — 1984–85 Seattle Breakers WHL 46 17 36 53 154 — — — — — 1985–86 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 68 3 14 17 238 — — — — — 1985–86 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5 0 1 1 12 18 0 0 0 53 1986–87 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 10 4 4 8 49 — — — — — 1986–87 Montreal Canadiens NHL 44 5 3 8 151 11 2 0 2 19 1987–88 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 2 6 8 159 7 2 2 4 26 1988–89 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6 0 0 0 13 — — — — — 1988–89 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 46 1 2 3 185 — — — — — 1989–90 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 55 9 4 13 252 5 0 1 1 33 1990–91 Newmarket Saints AHL 8 1 1 2 79 — — — — — 1990–91 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 0 0 9 — — — — — 1990–91 Washington Capitals NHL 7 0 0 0 101 — — — — — 1991–92 Cape Breton Oilers AHL 12 2 1 3 141 5 0 1 1 53 1991–92 Quebec Nordiques NHL 18 0 2 2 115 — — — — — NHL totals 244 17 18 35 997 41 4 3 7 131
Awards WHL West Second All-Star Team – 1985 1986 Stanley Cup Champion. Montreal Canadiens.
See also List of ice hockey players who died during their playing careers
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