Editing Chris Nilan

{{short description|American ice hockey player}}
{{BLP sources|date=June 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| image = 
| image_size = 230px
| caption =
| alt =
| position = [[Winger (ice hockey)|Right wing]]
| shoots = Right
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 205
| played_for = [[Montreal Canadiens]]<br>[[New York Rangers]]<br>[[Boston Bruins]]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|2|9|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S.
| ntl_team = USA
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| draft = 231st overall
| draft_year = 1978
| draft_team = [[Montreal Canadiens]]
| career_start = 1979
| career_end = 1992
| website = {{official website|http://www.knucklesnilan.com}}
}}
'''Christopher John Nilan''' (born February 9, 1958) is an American  former professional [[ice hockey]] player and former radio host. Nilan played 688 [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) regular season games as a [[Winger (ice hockey)|right-wing]] for the [[Montreal Canadiens]], [[New York Rangers]], and [[Boston Bruins]] between 1980 and 1992. He won the Stanley Cup in 1986 with Montreal.

Known as '''"Knuckles"''' or '''"Knux"''', 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]]'s 2011 documentary film ''The Last Gladiators''.

==Playing career==
Nilan grew up in [[Massachusetts]] where he idolized [[Bobby Orr]] and dreamed of playing for the [[Boston Bruins]].  He played his youth hockey with the Parkway ([[West Roxbury]], [[Massachusetts]]) team  of the Greater Boston Youth Hockey League (GBYHL), sponsored by the [[Massachusetts Water Resources Authority|Metropolitan District Commission]] (MDC). He later played college hockey for the [[Northeastern University (Boston, Massachusetts)|Northeastern University]] 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 [[National Hockey League]] (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]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=NHL – Single game records|url=http://statshockey.homestead.com/nhlrecords.html|work=StatsHockey.net|accessdate=June 4, 2012}}</ref>

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 1991–92 season.  Highlights of his career include winning the [[Stanley Cup]] in 1986 with the Canadiens, being named to Team USA for the [[1987 Canada Cup]], and his controversial selection to the [[1991 NHL All-Star Game]] by his then-coach [[Mike Milbury]] (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]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hohler |first1=Bob |title=Nilan drops gloves over shoplifting charge |url=http://archive.boston.com/sports/hockey/articles/2009/07/18/ex_bruin_nilan_draws_another_penalty/ |newspaper=Boston.com |accessdate=October 3, 2018 |date=July 18, 2009}}</ref> before returning to hockey as a coach. He was initially hired as an assistant coach of the [[New Jersey Devils]] on August 3, 1995, and remained in that position until May 1996, before becoming a head coach for the [[Chesapeake Icebreakers]] of the [[ECHL]].

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]]'s girlfriends.

Today Nilan talks openly about his past problems with alcohol and prescription drugs, as well as battling a [[heroin]] 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 Montreal.

He began hosting his own program, ''Off the Cuff'' on [[CKGM|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. The show aired from noon to 3:00&nbsp;p.m. weekdays local time, also streamed live online. In 2022, he was fired from his ''Off the Cuff'' hosting position by [[Bell Media]] after he refused to get [[COVID-19 vaccine|vaccinated against COVID-19]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-02-04|title=Former Hab Chris Nilan fired from TSN radio for refusing vaccination|url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/mobile/former-hab-chris-nilan-fired-from-tsn-radio-for-refusing-vaccination-1.5768125|access-date=2022-02-05|website=Montreal|language=en}}</ref>

Nilan Currently hosts his own Podcast "The Raw Knuckles Podcast"

==Awards==
*Won the [[Stanley Cup]] in [[1986 Stanley Cup Finals|1986]] with the [[Montreal Canadiens]]
*Selected to one [[National Hockey League All-Star Game|NHL All-Star Game]]: [[42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game|1991]]

==Career statistics==
===Regular season and playoffs===
<small>'''Bold''' indicates led league</small>
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|[[Regular season]]
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|[[Playoffs]]
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! [[Season (sports)|Season]]
! Team
! League
! GP !! [[Goal (ice hockey)|G]] !! [[Assist (ice hockey)|A]] !! [[Point (ice hockey)|Pts]] !! [[Penalty (ice hockey)|PIM]]
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|- 
| 1975–76
| [[Northwood School (Lake Placid, New York)|Northwood School]]
| [[College-preparatory school|Prep]]
| — || — || — || — || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1976–77 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season|1976–77]] 
| [[Northeastern Huskies men's ice hockey|Northeastern University]]
| [[ECAC Hockey|ECAC]]
| 20 || 3 || 2 || 5 || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1977–78 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season|1977–78]] 
| Northeastern University
| ECAC
| 20 || 8 || 9 || 17 || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1977–78
| Tri-Valley Squares
| NEJHL
| — || — || — || — || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|-  
| [[1978–79 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season|1978–79]] 
| Northeastern University 
| ECAC 
| 32 || 9 || 17 || 26 || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1979–80 AHL season|1979–80]] 
| [[Nova Scotia Voyageurs]]
| [[American Hockey League|AHL]]
| 49 || 15 || 10 || 25 || 304
| — || — || — || — || —
|-  
| [[1979–80 NHL season|1979–80]]
| [[Montreal Canadiens]]
| [[National Hockey League|NHL]]
| 15 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 50
| 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1980–81 NHL season|1980–81]]
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 57 || 7 || 8 || 15 || 262
| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-  
| [[1981–82 NHL season|1981–82]]
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 49 || 7 || 4 || 11 || 204
| 5 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 22
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1982–83 NHL season|1982–83]]
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 66 || 6 || 8 || 14 || 213
| 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 5
|-  
| [[1983–84 NHL season|1983–84]]
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 76 || 16 || 10 || 26 || '''338'''
| 15 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 81
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1984–85 NHL season|1984–85]]
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 77 || 21 || 16 || 37 || '''358'''
| 12 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 81
|- 
| [[1985–86 NHL season|1985–86]]
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 72 || 19 || 15 || 34 || 274
| 18 || 1 || 2 || 3 || '''141'''
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1986–87 NHL season|1986–87]]
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 44 || 4 || 16 || 20 || 266
| 17 || 3 || 0 || 3 || 75
|-  
| [[1987–88 NHL season|1987–88]]
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 50 || 7 || 5 || 12 || 209
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"  
| 1987–88
| [[New York Rangers]]
| NHL
| 22 || 3 || 5 || 8 || 96
| — || — || — || — || —
|- 
| [[1988–89 NHL season|1988–89]]
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 38 || 7 || 7 || 14 || 177
| 4 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 38
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 
| [[1989–90 NHL season|1989–90]]
| New York Rangers
| NHL
| 25 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 59
| 4 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 19
|-  
| [[1990–91 NHL season|1990–91]]
| [[Boston Bruins]]
| NHL
| 41 || 6 || 9 || 15 || 277
| 19 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 62
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"  
| [[1991–92 NHL season|1991–92]]
| Boston Bruins
| NHL
| 39 || 5 || 5 || 10 || 186
| — || — || — || — || —
|-  
| 1991–92
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 17 || 1 || 3 || 4 || 74
| 7 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 15
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 688 !! 110 !! 115 !! 225 !! 3,043
! 111 !! 8 !! 9 !! 17 !! 541
|}

===International===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:50em"
|- ALIGN="centre" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp;
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-
| [[1987 Canada Cup|1987]]
| [[United States men's national ice hockey team|United States]]
| [[Canada Cup|CC]]
| 5
| 2
| 0
| 2
| 14
|}

==See also==
*[[List of NHL players with 2000 career penalty minutes]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{icehockeystats|legends=11197}}
*[http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1978/78231.html Chris Nilan's Hockeydraftcentral.com profile]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilan, Chris}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:American men's ice hockey forwards]]
[[Category:Boston Bruins players]]
[[Category:Ice hockey people from Boston]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Montreal Canadiens draft picks]]
[[Category:Montreal Canadiens players]]
[[Category:National Hockey League All-Stars]]
[[Category:New Jersey Devils coaches]]
[[Category:New York Rangers players]]
[[Category:Northeastern Huskies men's ice hockey players]]
[[Category:Northeastern University alumni]]
[[Category:Nova Scotia Voyageurs players]]
[[Category:Stanley Cup champions]]
[[Category:Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]