Christopher John Nilan (born February 9, 1958) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and former radio host. Nilan played 688

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) regular season games as a

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, and

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

between 1980 and 1992. He won the Stanley Cup in 1986 with Montreal. Known as "Knuckles" or "Nuck", he was famous for his propensity to fight. He holds a record for most penalty minutes by an American-born player. Nilan's life and career are prominently featured in

Alex Gibney Philip Alexander Gibney (; born October 23, 1953) is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, ''Esquire'' magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time". Gibney's works as director include '' ...

's 2011 documentary film ''The Last Gladiators''.

Playing career

Nilan grew up in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

where he idolized

Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his ice skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the pos ...

and dreamed of playing for the

. He played his youth hockey with the Parkway (

West Roxbury West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the cities and towns of Newton and Needham to the northwest and the town of Dedham to the ...

) team of the Greater Boston Youth Hockey League (GBYHL), sponsored by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC). He later played college hockey for the

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

Huskies, from 1976 to 1979, averaging 3.5 penalty minutes per game in his final collegiate season. Nilan was selected 231st overall in the 1978 NHL Entry Draft, and was best known as a tough-guy for the Montreal Canadiens in the mid 1980s. One of only nine players in

(NHL) history to have recorded more than 3,000 career penalty minutes, he holds the records of highest penalty minute average per game at 4.42 minutes per game, the most penalty minutes in a single playoff season at 141, as well as the record for most penalties in a single game; on March 31, 1991, when the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

visited Nilan's Bruins, Nilan was assessed a record ten penalties: six minors, two majors, one misconduct and one game misconduct, for a total of 42 penalty minutes. Seriously hobbled by repeated injuries, Nilan missed over two hundred games in his final five seasons, and would only play as many as 50 games twice in his final four seasons. He retired after the 1992 season. Highlights of his career include winning the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

in 1986 with the Canadiens, being named to Team USA for the

1987 Canada Cup The 1987 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament held from August 28 to September 15, 1987. The finals took place in Montreal on September 11 and Hamilton, on September 13 and September 15, and were won by Team ...

, and his controversial selection to the

1991 NHL All-Star Game The 42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game took place in Chicago Stadium, home of the Chicago Blackhawks, on January 19, 1991. Commissioner's Choice The 1991 game saw much controversy in team selection, as Wales head coach Mike Milbury include ...

by his then-coach

Mike Milbury Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

(Nilan missed the game with a broken left ankle), which led to changes in how players are selected for all-star games.

Post career

Nilan returned to the Boston area and went into the insurance business after retirement. He spent three years as community relations consultant for

John Hancock Insurance John Hancock Life Insurance Company, U.S.A. is a Boston-based insurance company. Established April 21, 1862, it was named in honor of John Hancock, a prominent American Patriot. In 2004, John Hancock was acquired by the Canadian multinational li ...

before returning to hockey as a coach. He was initially hired as an assistant coach of the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

on August 3, 1995, and remained in that position until May 1996, before becoming a head coach for the

Chesapeake Icebreakers The Chesapeake Icebreakers were a minor league ice hockey team that played in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) from 1997 to 1999. The Icebreakers were an expansion team that was granted to Upper Marlboro, Maryland for the start of the 1997� ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. Nilan was married to Karen Stanley in 1981. They were divorced in 2006. They have two daughters, Colleen and Tara, and one son, Christopher. Karen was a daughter of Theresa Stanley, who was one of notorious crime boss

Whitey Bulger James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. (; September 3, 1929 – October 30, 2018) was an American organized crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Bos ...

's girlfriends. Today Nilan talks openly about his past problems with alcohol and prescription drugs, as well as battling a

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

addiction. He is involved in numerous social and charitable causes. Nilan also speaks to local students in Montreal about learning from his life experiences and mistakes. Nilan lived in Oregon for two years, where he met his current girlfriend, Jaime Holtz (who is originally from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii). Chris moved back to Montreal with Jaime in 2011, and they currently reside in

Dorval Dorval () is an on-island suburban city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has the largest surface area in Montré ...

. He began hosting his own program, ''Off the Cuff'' on TSN Radio 690 Montreal, on March 18, 2013, after being a daily phone-in guest on Melnick in the Afternoon for a number of months. He is on the air from noon to 3:00 p.m. weekdays local time, also streaming live online. In 2022, he was fired from his ''Off the Cuff'' hosting position by

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

after he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Nilan Currently hosts his own Podcast "The Raw Knuckles Podcast"

Awards

*Won the

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

with the

*Selected to one

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Bold indicates led league

International

References

External links

*
Chris Nilan's Hockeydraftcentral.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilan, Chris 1958 births American men's ice hockey forwards Boston Bruins players Ice hockey players from Boston Living people Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players National Hockey League All-Stars New Jersey Devils coaches New York Rangers players Northeastern University alumni Sportspeople from Boston Stanley Cup champions Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts