Ex-Habs enforcer Chris Nilan says he was fired from TSN for refusing vaccine

Chris Nilan threw a lot of jabs in his playing days, but his refusal to take one now has apparently cost him his job.

The former Canadiens forward and tough guy was recently removed from his role at TSN 690, a Montreal radio station, saying in a letter posted on Twitter that his contract was terminated because he refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

Within the letter, he states that Bell Media — which owns TSN — ordered him to take the vaccine in late 2021, but after discussing it with his doctor and wife, he decided not to get it. He was denied any medical exemption for the vaccine, and earlier this week received a letter from Bell informing him that his contract has been terminated.

Bell Media did not comment on the departure, but any trace of Nilan on TSN 690’s website has been removed.

Nilan began hosting his “Off the Cuff” show on the station in 2013, after appearing previously as a phone-in guest for a few months.

Before his radio career, Nilan appeared in 699 NHL games from 1979 to 1992 — the majority of those being with the Canadiens, with stints with the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins as well. He managed to score 110 goals and 225 points in his career, while accumulating a total of 3,043 penalty minutes, which ranks ninth in NHL history.

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