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Chris Nilan Blasts Canadiens for Fleury Handshake Tribute, Reveals What He Would've Done Instead

Originally posted on Habs Fanatics | By Elias Adaime | Last updated Feb 1, 2025 7:42 PM ET

We experienced a great moment on Thursday, live from the Bell Centre, for Marc-André Fleury's final game in Montreal.

Of course, there's the famous scene of each of the Canadiens players shaking hands, which has been talked about all over the National Hockey League.

The entire Canadiens team stayed on the ice to congratulate Marc-André Fleury after his last game in Montreal.
He becomes the first goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout both as a teenager and when he is 40 or older.

- ESPN

It was so beautiful to watch, and I thought everyone loved it, but clearly, that's not the case.

Chris Nilan had a lot to say about the handshakes with Marc-André Fleury in the middle of the Bell Centre

As reported by Félix Forget, let's just say Nilan didn't take it well.

Appearing on Tony Marinaro's Sick Podcast, former Habs player Chris Nilan admitted that he would probably have had a different reaction if he had seen something like that happen when he was a player.

I would've punched him in the head. Are you sh*tting me?
Did you ever see that before in a hockey game where another team comes out and hugs the goalie?

- Chris Nikan

You can really see that we live in a new era, and based on what we saw on Thursday, I honestly believe it's for the better.

This article first appeared on Habs Fanatics and was syndicated with permission.

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