In the Press
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![Dr. Michael Alosco & Chris Nilan]()
A Former Hockey Enforcer Searches for Answers on C.T.E. Before It’s Too Late
Chris Nilan fought more than 300 times during a pro hockey career, then had years of addiction and anger problems. A high-risk candidate for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Nilan is being studied by Boston University.
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![https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha-00QQrhro]()
Ambassador Roundtable
Chantal Machabee hosted an Ambassador Roundtable featuring Yvan Cournoyer, Rejean Houle, and the newest members of the group, Guy Carbonneau, Vincent Damphousse, Patrice Brisebois, and Chris Nilan, on Twitch.
YouTube.com
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![https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/canadiens-announce-new-team-ambassadors/c-334802160]()
Canadiens Announce New Team Ambassadors
Carbonneau, Damphousse, Brisebois and Nilan, join Cournoyer and Houle in role as team ambassadors
NHL.com
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Remembering Guy Lafleur
Chris Nilan shares his favorite memories of legendary Hall-of-Famer Guy Lafleur
NHL.com
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New Canadiens management team welcomes back CH legends
"I have a pretty good understanding what kind of players they were, how big of an impact they had," head coach Martin St. Louis says.
Montreal Gazette
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Former Habs Chris Nilan fired from TSN radio for refusing vaccination
Former NHL hockey player Chris Nilan has been fired from his TSN-690 show 'Off the Cuff' after he refused a COVID-19 vaccine, seeking a medical exemption.
Montreal CTV News
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![Knuckles Nilan on the ice]()
“There's no shame in asking for help”
Former Habs enforcer credits his ability to open up and get assistance from others for overcoming addiction and turning his life around
NHL.com
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![Chris Nilan and his girlfriend, Jaime Holtz, take their dogs Adele and Bodhi]()
My Montreal: Chris Nilan carries love for city, Habs on his shoulder
“I love it here,” former Canadien says about life with his girlfriend and their two big beautiful dogs. “It’s a great place.”
Montreal Gazette
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![Book: Les 100 meilleurs joueurs du Canadien]()
Les 100 meilleurs joueurs du Canadien
Check out the newest book, Les 100 meilleurs joueurs du Canadien. And yes, Knuckles is in there!
Journal de Montreal
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![Former Canadien Chris Nilan has faced his own battles with substance abuse and can relate to what current Canadien Zack Kassian is going through now. PHOTO BY JOHN KENNEY]()
Stu Cowan: A Q&A with Chris Nilan on Zack Kassian and battling substance abuse
If there's anyone who can understand what Zack Kassian is going through, it's former Canadien Chris Nilan, who has battled his own substance-abuse problems with alcohol and drugs
Montreal Gazette
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Chris Nilan – Fighting, minus the rage
“It’s 2015. I just got a call from my hometown, Boston. Disaster! My mother just suffered a stroke. »
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The Current with Matt Galloway
Why former NHL brawler Chris Nilan is offering his brain for study
RAW KNUCKLES
The Podcast with Chris Nilan and Tim Stapleton
JOIN THE RAW KNUCKLES’ PODCAST FIGHT CLUB
For exclusive bonus content and more!
Check out Chris’s book!
Fighting Back: The Chris Nilan Story
One of hockey’s most feared enforcers reveals his off-ice battles with heroin and depression.
Chris Nilan, who grew up in the tough and gritty Irish enclave in Boston, was a feared enforcer for the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, and a Stanley Cup champion never afraid to go into the corners or take off his gloves. He was a valued teammate whose very presence on the ice affected the way the game was played. Always a colourful character, Nilan was married for many years to the daughter of the longtime girlfriend of Boston mob figure Whitey Bulger, among the most notorious, ruthless and murderous gangsters in American history—almost all of his Habs teammates attended the wedding. As an enforcer and as a teammate, Nilan ranks among the greatest of all time.
When the cheering stopped, however, Chris Nilan did not do well. The same qualities—his aggressiveness and high-emotion style—that proved so valuable on the ice did not serve him well when his career ended. Nilan turned to drugs and alcohol to dull his pain, and nearly died from an overdose. Nilan’s story is a fascinating and troubling exposé of the booze, bills and drugs that destroy so many athletes after their careers are over. But it’s also a story of triumph—Nilan has been the victor in his fight against his demons.
Official Trailer
The Last Gladiators
Academy Award® winning Director Alex Gibney takes an unprecedented look at the National Hockey League’s most feared enforcers and explores the career of Chris “Knuckles” Nilan.
The role was simple: protect their teammates no matter the cost. For Chris this meant a shattered body, addiction to drugs, and harming the people closest to him. But in the process, he won the love of hockey’s holy city, Montreal, and helped the team win the Stanley Cup.
Through interviews with hockey’s toughest guys, the film explores what it means to enforce the unspoken code of the NHL.