I have been a fan of Chris Nilan since he made his debut with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1979-80 season. Back then my dad had good access to tickets so my brother Chuck and I went to many games together. We loved players who were prepared to mix it up. I was 17; Chuck, 15. Before we arrived at the Forum we had all of the stats on this tough kid from Boston who was given a goaltender’s number 30.
The Nickname Knuckles was born when Chris was a freshman at Northeastern University by a close friend of his Jerry Dwyer. The late great Red Fisher, who covered the Habs for decades, took a liking to Nilan and gave the “Knuckles” moniker a lot more publicity. Every time he jumped on the ice, we knew there was a good chance he would drop the gloves with somebody. I always saw him as the ultimate policeman, sticking up for any of his teammates who were being bullied. Our hearts were beating a mile a minute as he made his presence known to the opposition. Over time, Knuckles showed that he had good hockey skills as well and he played on a key line with Bob Gainey, Doug Jarvis and later Guy Carbonneau.
In 688 career games Knuckles scored 110 goals, added 115 assists and had 3,043 penalty minutes. He was traded to the New York Rangers during the 1987-88 season. He even ended up playing parts of two seasons with his hometown Boston Bruins. In 1992, he was reacquired by Montreal and played his final 17 career games as a Hab.
Knuckles and his wife Jaimie.
Following retirement Knuckles returned to Boston where he worked in the insurance industry. Soon after he tried his luck at coaching. That did not work out and from there it was a downhill slide into drug and alcohol addiction. But life started to change when Rick Moffat offered him to do some guest spots on CJAD Radio Habs broadcasts. I remember talking to Knuckles back then. He really liked it and confessed that Montreal was where he wanted to return and settle down. Over at the TEAM 990 all-sports radio (now TSN 690), Mitch Melnick brought Knuckles on his drive home show for a daily banter session and with then station manager Wayne Bews helped get him his very own hotline show. Life was great! Knuckles was also doing a lot of public speaking. In 2011 he met Jaimie Holtz while living in Oregon. They have been together ever since and she is clearly his rock. I was pleased to finally meet her Friday.
Knuckles chats with Serge Savard
While Knuckles lost his job at TSN 690 during the pandemic, for what Bell Media claimed was his unwillingness to get vaccinated, he did bounce back with his Raw Knuckles Podcast. Here he regularly interviews former opponents he duked it out with on the ice, from Dave Brown to Jay Miller, in addition of course to present-day players.
Recently, Sammy and Aniela Cavallaro added him to their Sick Podcast Network, which also includes Tony Marinaro. Knuckles is an official Canadiens ambassador, a much sought after public speaker and last summer he started his own golf tournament for the Liam Foundation. The latter was established in 2019 by Kevin Reason, whose 10-year-old son Liam suffers from PolG disorder — a rare, debilitating mitochondrial disease that affects muscle cells in the body, deteriorating movement and strength over time.
I give you all of this background in the wake of a press conference I attended Friday at Ristorante Da Vinci downtown. It was there that the Barry F. Lorenzetti Foundation announced that Knuckles: The Chris Nilan Story will hit the stage of the Maison Principale in Griffintown May 28, 30 and June 3 and 5 in a dinner theatre format. Directed by noted playwright Vittorio Rossi, this will be Knuckles like you have never seen him before, offering a rare unfiltered look at the highs and lows of his life. All proceeds will go to the Foundation to benefit programs combatting the stigma surrounding mental health.
There was a who’s who of media and sports personalities the announcement. Canadian Women’s Hockey team gold medal winner Caroline Ouellette served as the emcee. Knuckles’ former teammates, Bob Gainey and Serge Savard were on hand, as well as former Hab and current-day development coach Paul Byron.
Lorenzetti said he came up with the idea of such a play about a year ago. He approached Knuckles, wondering how many people really knew what he went through with his mental health. Would he be willing to tell this story on stage? “Chris and I developed a friendship because we have a common cause,” Lorenzetti said. “He is an absolute natural for this.”
Rossi made it clear that he is not writing a script for Knuckles. “He will say everything in his own words,” he explained. “I will use my experience to shape the story. The trajectory of his life is nothing short than a miracle.”
I asked if the show could possibly be extended and even go on the road to places like Boston. That was not ruled out.
When it came time for Knuckles to speak, he broke down several times harkening back to some of his really dark days. “A lot of the pain in my life came from the lies I was telling myself, “ he said. “I was only as sick as my secrets. I went to a place that I do not wish on anybody.”
As for the show, Knuckles hopes that he can send a message out to people who struggle with addiction and might be afraid to tell anyone about because of the stigma of asking for help. ‘”I was never able to do that in my life,” he shared. “I relied on one person and that was me. Sometimes that could be a lonely place.”
It is interesting to note that present-day Habs star Patrick Laine and his fiancée Jordan Leigh have launched an initiative called From Us to You, a non-profit focused on sharing stories, advice and support for overcoming adversity and prioritizing mental health.
Former Canadiens enforcer Chris “Knuckles” Nilan shares why he decided to do a one man stage show about the highs and lows of his career, notably his struggles with addiction mental health.
While Knuckles has been leading a completely clean life for many years, he maintains “I am an alcoholic and a drug addict. I will be that the rest of my life. I am not ashamed of it because it helped me change my life.”
The production will be sponsored by BFL Canada and the National Bank of Canada. Construction magnate Joseph Broccolini was on hand Friday and he is eager to play a role in this program as well.
For ticket information log on to https://fondationlorenzetti.org/