Chris ‘Knuckles’ Nilan graced the National Hockey League between 1979-80 and 1991-92. A hockey enforcer from a bygone era when men played the game, Nilan has recently picked up a gig doing sports talk radio in Montreal, the city where his NHL career began.
Chris Nilan – The Player
Nilan played 688 regular season games in the NHL between 1979-80 and 1991-92 with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. Over those 688 games, Chris scored 110 goals and assisted on 115 for 225 points. More importantly, in a hockey history perspective, Nilan sat 3,043 minutes in the penalty box.
While playing for Northeastern University in the NCAA, Nilan was picked by the Montreal Canadiens very, very deep at the 1978 NHL Entry Draft. Chris was selected in the 19th round, 231st overall.
In his first year of pro hockey, Nilan led the American Hockey League in penalty minutes with 304 over just 49 games. He also showed he could play hockey with 15 goals and 10 assists for 25 points. Chris finished up the year in the NHL, playing 15 regular season games for the Habs and five more in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Twice he led the NHL in Penalty minutes. In 1983-84, Nilan totalled 338 PIM in 76 games to lead the league while the following season he increased his numbers to 358 in 77 games. In an attempt not to be entirely pegged as a goon, Chris scored 16 goals in 83-84 and 21 in 84-85.
Perhaps his greatest season came in 1985-86. He scored 21 goals during the regular season to help the Habs into the playoffs. Montreal then reached the finals before ousting the Calgary Flames to win the Stanley Cup championship. Chris sat 141 penalty minutes in 18 playoff games. This total eclipsed the record of 139 set by Dave ‘The Hammer’ Schultz of the Philadelphia Flyers over 17 games in 1973-74. The record stands today.
Nilan is one of just nine players in NHL history to accumulate more than 3,000 minutes in penalties. He sits ninth on the all-time list with his 3,043. In playoff action, his 541 minutes over 111 playoff games places him second all-time behind the 729 PIM of Dale Hunter.
Chris Nilan – The Coach
Nilan spent one year in the National Hockey League as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils under Jacques Lemaire. The Devils suffered a rare absense from the post season and Chris never returned to the NHL.
He was a little more successful as the head coach of the Chesapeake Icebreakers in the ECHL. Nilan was head coach of the team for two years, 1997-98 and 1998-99. In the first year, the Icebreakers were a quick first round exit from the Kelly Cup playoffs. In his second season behind the bench, the team reached the third round before being eliminated.
Chris Nilan – The Rookie Card
The Chris Nilan rookie card appears as number 194 in the 1983-84 O-Pee-Chee set. The card is valued at about 7.5 times that of a common card.