I remember the moment well. In our youth, my younger brother Chuck and I were very fortunate to get a lot of tickets to Montreal Canadiens hockey games at the old Forum. Chuck in particular lived for hockey fights. In the winter of 1980 we attended the game which marked the debut of a virtually unknown tough guy named Chris Nilan. That season with the minor league Nova Scotia Voyageurs he had scored 15 goals and added 10 assists in 49 games. More impressively, he had 304 penalty minutes. Wearing number 30, Nilan’s became an instant fan favorite. Chuck’s heart was beating a mile a minute as he waited for Nilan to get in his first fight. It did not take long for that to occur.
In my opinion Nilan was the greatest enforcer the Habs ever had. Yes, even more so than the legendary John Ferguson.
Check out this video of a Nilan-inspired brawl with the Boston Bruins.
Nilan spent nine seasons with the Habs. After three seasons with the New York Rangers and a year and a half with his Boston Bruins, he finished his career in 1991-92 with the Habs. He retired with 110 goals, 225 points and 3,043 penalty minutes, adding eight goals and 17 points in the playoffs, as well as 541 penalty minutes.
Nilan was selected. 231st overall in the 1978 Amateur Draft. During most of his years with the Habs he played on the team’s top defensive line with Guy Carbonneau and Bob Gainey
After last week’s vicious hit Boston’s Zdeno Chara inflicted upon rising Canadiens star Max Pacioretty, I immediately thought about Nilan and what he would have done in a situation like that.
Nilan was not only an enforcer. He could play good hockey as well. As luck would have it he was in town last week to appear at the Erin Sports Association’s Irishman of the Year Breakfast and good enough to sit down with me for a chat at his downtown hotel.
“I was actually in Afghanistan visiting the troops last week with the NHL alumni,” Nilan shared. “We were all watching the game on a TV feed at 4 a.m. Kandahar time and I went out to get a coffee. When I came back, my former teammate Mario Tremblay, told me I had missed the hit. I didn’t actually see it until I accessed it on my blackberry last Friday morning.”
If Nilan were part of the present-day Canadiens, how would he have reacted to the Chara assault? “If I was on the bench it would have been hard for me to jump off,” he said “But if I was on the ice something would have happened. That is for sure! When I played, I was not afraid of anyone, no matter how big they were.”
What does Nilan think of fighting in today’s NHL? Brace yourself for this answer! “I think they should take it out,” he stated. “But (Commissioner Gary) Bettman won’t do it. If he realizes afterwards it was a mistake, how does he put it back in?”
Since fighting is still very much part of the game, Nilan believes that instigating a fight and getting an additional penalty for that is not such a bad thing. “In fact,” he said, “it could be one of the best penalties a player can take for his team.”
Nilan told me he is launching a website called knucklesnilan.com and plans to use this to make himself available for speaking engagements. He is also involved in a documentary called The Last Gladiators about fighting in the NHL. The producers hope ri have it ready to debut at the Toronto International Film Festival next fall.
During his years with the Habs, Nilan and his family lived downtown and in West Island Kirkland. “We built a beautiful home there,” he says. “I loved the fact it was such a peaceful community where I really felt relaxed.”
Nilan auditioned to become play-by-play man Rick Moffat’s colour commentator for CJAD broadcasts of the Canadiens prior to the season. When Sergio Momesso got the nod, CJAD program director Chris Bury came up with the idea of creating a post-game show feature called “the third man in.” Said Moffat: “Nilan's name certainly came to mind and it seemed like a natural fit. As Sergio likes to quip on the air, ‘Chris was actually the first man in’ on many occasions. There is no doubt Nilan remains a beloved figure in Habs lore and is candid and blunt about his views, as he is open and honest.”
If there is one thing that really bothers me about the Canadiens since the duo of GM Pierre Gauthier and coach Jacques Martin took over is the absence of a true enforcer like Nilan on the roster. I am sorry, but Travis Moen, Ryan White or Paul Marra do not really fit the bill. Former GM Bob Gainey signed tough guy Georges Laraque to a $1.5 million per season three year contract. It was clear that whenever Georges was in the lineup, opposition thugs watched their step. Last season, after Laraque scored his first goal as a Hab, Gainey allowed Martin to whisper in his ear and take Laraque off the active roster. Okay, so Martin did not want to dress Laraque every game. But his mere availability could have come in handy when the Philadelphia Flyers smashed the Habs around in the playoffs.
As Nilan said re Chara: “Do you think Chara would have continued to go after Pacioretty is Georges Laraque was on the bench?”
Why do the Habs have someone like Tom Pyatt on the team at all? He has one goal this season and when he was forced into a fight with Gregory Campbell of the Bruins he got beaten to a pulp. I cannot understand why Gauthier did not try to acquire a true tough guy like Chris Neil of the Senators or David Clarkson of New Jersey? If only they could find another Nilan in the system.
Nilan was so exciting to watch .He was one terrific fighter, Just google his name in YouTube to find out. Had he been in the game today he’d easily be making $3 million a year.
I asked Nilan how he interacts with former opponents he fought with. “When I played I did not talk to any of my opponents,” he said. “But that all changes when you retire. I fought Bob Probert a lot. Before he died last year we were very friendly. We even went on a trip to Afghanistan together.”
While in Afghanistan Nilan said he met with seriously injured troops, flew on helicopter over the warzone and witnessed a rocket missile land within the base he was staying at. He enjoyed the experience immensely, noting that this was his third such trip.