Latest news with #Knuckles:TheChrisNilanStory
Global News
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Global News
Former Canadiens player Chris Nilan to hit the stage in 1-man show about addiction, career, life
Chris Nilan, the former Montreal Canadiens enforcer, is taking the stage in late May in a one-man show titled Knuckles: The Chris Nilan Story. The former NHLer joined Global News Morning in Montreal on Friday and said the show promises to dive deep into the emotional and physical battles that defined his turbulent life. 2:17 Former Habs player Chris Nilan confronts his struggles with mental health in a new one-man show Nicknamed Chris 'Knuckles' Nilan, the notorious Boston-born hockey player, whose career was marked by controversy and his physicality on the ice, says the show will discuss his life story — from his career and his multiple surgeries, to his journey with addiction, an overdose and his mental health struggles. Story continues below advertisement Nilan said the show will discuss his early formative years, his career, and his life after hockey. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I feel good about doing this,' Nilan told host Laura Casella. 'In my life I've hurt quite a few people. I don't want to hurt people anymore, I want to help people.' The former radio host and right-winger with the Habs, the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins worked with playwright and director Vittorio Rossi on the show. Knuckles: The Chris Nilan Story premières at Maison Principale in Montreal on May 28.
Montreal Gazette
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Chris Nilan fights his demons in new one-man show
The Corner Booth Chris Nilan has never turned down a battle — on the ice and in life. Now, that fearlessness is extending to the stage for the first time. The former Montreal Canadiens player and 1985-86 Stanley Cup winner, known affectionately to Habs fans as Knuckles, will be telling the story of his remarkable life from West Roxbury in Boston to the NHL — as well as to hell and back — in the new one-man show Knuckles: The Chris Nilan Story. Knucks joined this week's episode of The Corner Booth with hosts Aaron Rand and Bill Brownstein at Snowdon Deli to talk about his theatre debut and what compelled him to lay bare his mental and physical struggles in such an intimate setting. 'There's one thing I've never been and never will be is an actor,' Nilan said. 'I'm telling my story, I'm telling it from the heart, and I'm going to be upfront, raw and personal. People are probably going to be mad at me, people are probably going to cry.' Nilan has long been open about his demons, from fighting drug and alcohol addiction to the toll his body took from years of being one of hockey's most respected enforcers. He might be an open book, but his new show, directed by Vittorio Rossi and coming to Maison Principale on May 28, 30 and June 3, 5, still has some secrets that might surprise even the most passionate Habs diehards. 'We come into the hockey world, become a Montreal Canadien, and you get introduced on the ice and everybody stands up clapping,' Nilan said. 'But who are they clapping for? They really don't know.'
