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Sunday, August 23, 2015

Lost Cards: 1985-86 OPC Chris Nilan

  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.

1985-86 OPC #266 Chris Nilan


1985-86 OPC #266 Chris Nilan

4 comments:

  1. Fantastic job on the Nilan 85-86 OPC creation.

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  2. I remember Chris Nilan and the Hockey of the 1980s and boy were there a lot of fights. Bench Brawls and All. Things sure have changed. Great Article. Thanks.

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  3. Nice!

    Fun fact: Whitey Bulger, whom Johnny Depp is currently playing in the film Black Mass, was Nilan's father-in-law.

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