Among pro hockey’s fiercest competitors, Stanley Cup champion Chris “Knuckles” Nilan played the game at full tilt. The Boston native, a fan favourite in Montreal, began his NHL career as a right winger and enforcer for the Canadiens in 1980.
Today, the battles he picks look different.
“I love to fish,” Nilan enthuses. “Grab my rod and just cast, relax, and be in the moment.”
In recent years, Nilan discovered a passion for fly fishing, introduced to the sport by a close friend and long-time Habs fan who brought him to his salmon camp in Labrador and taught him the ropes.
“There’s something about it — the rhythm, the quiet, the technique. I absolutely love it,” says the gruff voiced legend.
“I used to think it was for rich guys and Ivy League yuppies. But really, I was just afraid I couldn’t do it.”
At 67, his heart still belongs to the game. Whether training young players or hosting Raw Knuckles, his weekly podcast that invites NHL peers for one-on-one conversations about the moments that shaped them, Nilan never veers far from center ice.
This spring, he welcomed a new challenge, debuting Knuckles: The Chris Nilan Story, a one-man benefit show tracing his path from his tough Boston upbringing to NHL stardom, the personal struggles that followed, and the road to recovery with executive producer Barry F. Lorenzetti helping bring the powerful story to life.
Proceeds supported the Barry F. Lorenzetti Foundation, where Nilan serves as an ambassador. The organization works to destigmatize and improve access to mental health care throughout Quebec and Canada.
With help from Montreal playwright Vittorio Rossi, he structured an unscripted show to speak straight from the heart.
“It’s not a show about addiction. It’s about my life,” he stresses. “You don’t really know someone until you hear the whole story.”
These days, Nilan’s version of fun is refreshingly analog. He’s a passionate reader, with a penchant for military and political history. “I love Churchill. I read all of his memoirs. It was long, but fascinating. It’s funny, I’ve always been kind of enamored with British society.”
A recent trip to England brought him closer to history at Liverpool’s Cavern Club, where the Beatles started out.
“I stood there, just staring at that little stage. Four guys — and they changed the world.”
After years in noisy arenas, it’s the quiet moments that matter: casting lines, turning pages, reaching people with honesty, enjoying life.
“I don’t get in my head much,” says Nilan, offering a piece of wisdom as simple as it is sacred:
“Just take care of the next thing in front of you.”