Chris Nilan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christopher John "Chris" Nilan (born February 9, 1958 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a former professional ice hockey player. Nilan played 688 NHL regular season games as a right-wing for the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers between 1980 and 1992. He won the Stanley Cup in 1986 with Montreal. Known as "Knuckles," he was famous for his propensity to fight.
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[edit] Amateur 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, MA) 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 Huskies, from 1976 to 1979, averaging 3.5 penalty minutes per game in his final collegiate season.
[edit] Pro career
Chris 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 1980's. One of only nine players in NHL history to have recorded more than 3,000 career penalty minutes, he holds the dubious records of highest penalty minute average per game at 4.42 minutes per game, as well as the record for most penalties in a single game. It was March 31, 1991, when Hartford played at Boston. Before the evening was over, Chris Nilan was penalized a record ten penalties; six minors, two majors, one misconduct and one game misconduct, for a total of 42 penalty minutes.
Nilan retired after the 1992 season. Highlights of his career include 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), leading to changes in how players were selected for all-star games, as well as winning the Stanley Cup in 1986 while with the Canadiens.
[edit] NHL Career Statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1979–80 | Montreal Canadiens | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | Montreal Canadiens | 57 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 262 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1981–82 | Montreal Canadiens | 49 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 204 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | ||
| 1982–83 | Montreal Canadiens | 66 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 213 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 1983–84 | Montreal Canadiens | 76 | 16 | 10 | 26 | 338 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 81 | ||
| 1984–85 | Montreal Canadiens | 77 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 358 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 81 | ||
| 1985–86 | Montreal Canadiens | 72 | 19 | 15 | 34 | 274 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 141 | ||
| 1986–87 | Montreal Canadiens | 44 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 266 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 75 | ||
| 1987–88 | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 209 | |||||||
| 1987–88 | New York Rangers | 22 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 96 | |||||||
| 1988–89 | New York Rangers | 38 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 177 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | ||
| 1989–90 | New York Rangers | 25 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | ||
| 1990–91 | Boston Bruins | 41 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 277 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 62 | ||
| 1991–92 | Boston Bruins | 39 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 186 | |||||||
| 1991–92 | Montreal Canadiens | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 74 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | ||
| NHL Totals | 688 | 110 | 115 | 225 | 3043 | 111 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 531 | |||
[edit] 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 Mutual Life Insurance before returning to hockey as a coach. He initially served as assistant coach of the New Jersey Devils on August 3, 1995, and remained in that position until May 1996 before becoming a head coach in the ECHL. He was hired by Rhode Island Secretary of State Edward S. Inman III as an executive assistant in April 2001.
[edit] Awards and Achievements
- 1991 NHL All-Star game (injured, did not play)
- Played for Team USA in 1987 Canada Cup tournament
[edit] External links
- Chris Nilan's Hockeydraftcentral.com profile
- Chris Nilan's biography at Legends of Hockey
- Chris Nilan's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
