It's surprising that an anglophone American Boston born player would become a fan favourite in Montreal, but
Chris Nilan did just that. "Knuckles" Nilan pounded his way into the hearts of Montreal Canadiens fans during the 1980s. Often at the center of many a fracas, Nilan patrolled the ice, and manned the penalty box, for 523 games and, a franchise record, 2248 PIM as a Canadien.
Nilan had a rookie card in the
1983-84 OPC set, and was also part of the
1984-85 OPC set. When OPC made the decision to cut down its hockey card set from 396 cards to 264, Nilan was one of the causalities, despite setting career highs in goals, points and leading the league in PIM for the second consecutive season. This how a 1985-86 OPC Chris Nilan card may have looked.
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| 1985-86 OPC #266 Chris Nilan |
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| 1985-86 OPC #266 Chris Nilan |
