Hey Jim, we were roommates freshman year with Tommy McVie at 90 The Fenway. :). Long time eh. I hope you are doing well. - Mike

Thomas Young Keep it up man, stay strong.

Awesome marty uribe too! Proud of you man.

One day at a time. You got this, man.

So happy for 30 years been waiting for a team of players like him and we finally have a great team of players like him

he wasn't from southie.

@@Mike___Honcho thought he was. My bad but certainly he was from Boston

@@paulclancy789 if you are unfamiliar with the boston neighborhoods, they are very insular and very different. there are several heavy irish populations in southie, charlestown, dorchester, and west roxbury, but that doesn't mean they are friendly to each other. southie irish kids will stay out of charlestown, and vice versa. i was an irish kid from 8 miles away and i would be risking my health to go into southie. nilan's irish west roxbury is a million miles away from irish charlestown, etc. you would have to be from here to know these differences and fine distinctions.

you are entitled to your opinion. it is indicative of the dumbing down of boston hockey fans that nilan was accepted at all and it was a disgrace by harry sinden to acquire him. bruins style of play has been tough and hard working, not dirty and embarrassing like nilan. after what he did to rick middleton, he should be banned from the building. nothing to respect here, twiggy. real hockey players do not respect dirty players and don't want them on their team, despite whatever else they may bring.

@@Mike___Honcho I was only made aware of the Rick Middleton incident about a month ago. Obviously many decades after it happened, and as well, long after i wrote the comment of Nilan. The incident certainly alters my perception of Nilan, tilting quite negatively, So your "dumbing down" comment is off base, Particularly since we are speaking of Hockey from a fans perspective. Its not an intellectual endeavor.

@@twiggyb67 again i have to differ with you. my family had season tickets for the Bs from the mid 60s until '82. in the early years of that span, most of the garden crowd was blue collar and male, i imagine with a high percentage of that crowd having been players at some time. it was a very smart crowd and you could tell this by their reaction to subtle events during a game. there was an appreciation for good, clean, tough, and gritty hockey, and these fans knew that dirty buggers only hurt the team by taking selfish penalties. bobby orr was behind the explosion of interest in hockey in the 70s in boston, but by the late 70s, the smart hockey fans were replaced by 12 year old girls wearing " krushelnyski " jerseys ( mike krushelnyski was a teen heart throb player for the Bs, like donnie osmond on skates. ) all this was good for hockey, as it fueled expansion and more money many times over, but today's crowds are full of people who really don't know anything about the game or it's codes. you are right that from a fan's perspective -- who cares ? i am no better than the 12 year old girl, but if we're talking about how to evaluate nilan's career, it helps to know a little about what hockey players think about guys like him, and it helps to actually have exposure to the guy. i was born just a few months later than nilan so we were in the same year growing up. we both played in the catholic conference in HS ( MC vs. CM ) and i was friends with dave archambault, the NU captain, so i skated at the arena with them both many times. i also worked at the cask n' flagon on huntington ave so i got to see drunk nilan many times. he used to love to sucker punch people out of the blue or pick fights. i would just stand there and watch him walk around and look for a victim. he was a walking felony assault -- aaron hernandez without a gun. he was a sick puppy since before he could drive. he didn't give a damn about his team. i recall many times watching him just unravel and take call after call after call, just cuz he felt like it, and he couldn't hit the side of a barn with the puck. montreal picked him cuz he was crazy.

I'm a CM grad too. My Dad grew up on Stratford.

My ex workout partner Steve was from WR, and knew Nilan, and was like 1 year younger, but went to CM. He would see Chris at get togethers and cool with him and he'd always remarked about Nilan's eyes and how they'd state right through you. He was also one to say "F-you" pretty quickly. If you even tried to get in his kitchen unless you were were in hi inner circle, which Steve B was. But he said Chris was a very good street fighter once he grew up. Hr certainly looks tough and hi ssf brain is pretty sharp. Bottom line, he had huge balls and CV would be CV k it up for a smaller heavyweight fighting guys way bigger - like Ben Wilson. Total. Boston Boy, now in Montreal. Great for him...sometimes abrasive but idiot's keep bugging people like Chris and act like they know you..so they can get their stupid selfie. He's a great guy now, honest as they come. Man his pops is one warrior I would give total respect to. Green Beret? HOLY $%&T !!

Well done for keeping it anonymous.

Said what exactly

Thinkingjack.said what

@lex ora I stand corrected.

I don't have to justify anything to you it's the internet "bud" it's not like we could tie up and fight but we did I would knock your head off of your shoulders "bud"

Yeah compare your high school hockey to the NHL. You are definitely HIGH

They got in a fight on a cruise ship one time.

He's sober now, and was before this piece was done (more than 6 years ago).

easy to kick a man when he is down . even easier when your hiding behind a computer . not good dude this man was a brave man

​@adylongdont bother with ignorance friend. mate4777