Career in North America

Part of the first major wave of Europeans to star in North American hockey, he was a major star in the WHA from 1974 to 1978. He scored at least 114 points in each of his four seasons in the upstart league, finishing third or fourth among overall scorers every time. He led the WHA with 85 assists in 1976-77, and tied Marc Tardif for the lead the next season with 89. Along with countryman Anders Hedberg and established superstar Bobby Hull, he played a starring role as the Jets won Avco Cup titles in 1976 and 1978. In the 1976 playoffs, he scored 26 points in just 13 games and was named WHA Playoff MVP.

In the summer of 1978, Nilsson and Hedberg signed with the NHL's New York Rangers for $2.4 million, further weakening the struggling WHA which would cease operations after just one more season. Nilsson's NHL career was marred by two significant injuries. The first was a broken ankle suffered when his skate blade got caught in a crevice in the Madison Square Garden ice as he was hit by Denis Potvin of the New York Islanders, which resulted in Nilsson bearing the entire force of the hit on only one leg. Although Nilsson has never characterized the hit as dirty and, in 2009, said, "He was always fair. But the ice was never great in the Garden because they had basketball and other events. My foot got caught. It was a freak thing," the incident is nevertheless commemorated by the "Potvin Sucks" chant that takes place during every Rangers home game.

Nilsson's second serious injury was to his knee while representing Sweden at the 1981 Canada Cup which caused him to miss the entire 1981-82 season. Nilsson was limited to 160 games in his three full seasons with the Rangers, though he scored an impressive 163 points in that time. He scored 8 goals and 16 points in the 1980-81 playoffs as the Rangers advanced to the semi-finals before being eliminated by their local rivals, the defending champion Islanders. After missing the previous season, he returned to the Rangers lineup for ten games early in the 1982-83 season.

Use of banned substances

Nilsson tested positive for ephedrine after Sweden's 4-1 victory over Poland on 6 April 1974, at the 1974 World Ice Hockey Championships. As a result, Sweden's win was vacated, and Poland was awarded a 5-0 walkover win. Nilsson was suspended for the remainder of the tournament.

Awards and achievements

• World Championship silver medalist (1973)
• World Championship bronze medalist (1974)
• WHA First All-Star Team (1976 and 1978)
• Playoff MVP (WHA) (1976)
• WHA Second All-Star Team (1977)
• Avco Cup (WHA Championship) (1976 and 1978)
• WHA all-time leader in career assists per game (1.15)
• Played in the Canada Cup (1976 and 1981)
• Played in the Challenge Cup (1979)
• New York Rangers Players' Player Award (1979)
• “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
• Inaugural member of the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1967-68	AIK	Swe-1		19	2	1	3	—		—	—	—	—	—
1968-69	AIK	Swe-1		8	2	4	6	0		7	1	3	4	4
1969-70	AIK	Swe-1		14	6	6	12	10		14	5	3	8	2
1970-71	AIK	Swe-1		14	10	3	13	6		14	2	4	6	8
1971-72	AIK	Swe-1		14	5	6	11	2		8	5	1	6	2
1972-73	AIK	Swe-1		14	11	7	18	4		14	10	8	18	23
1973-74	AIK	Swe-1		14	9	9	18	32		15	14	6	20	26
1974-75	Winnipeg Jets	WHA		78	26	94	120	79		—	—	—	—	—
1975-76	Winnipeg Jets	WHA		78	38	76	114	84		13	7	19	26	6
1976-77	Winnipeg Jets	WHA		71	39	85	124	89		20	6	21	27	33
1977-78	Winnipeg Jets	WHA		73	37	89	126	89		9	1	13	14	12
1978-79	New York Rangers	NHL		59	27	39	66	21		2	0	0	0	2
1979-80	New York Rangers	NHL		50	14	44	58	20		9	0	6	6	2
1980-81	New York Rangers	NHL		51	14	25	39	42		14	8	8	16	23
1981-82	Springfield Indians	AHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1982-83	New York Rangers	NHL		10	2	4	6	2		—	—	—	—	—
1982-83	Tulsa Oilers	CHL		3	2	1	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				170	57	112	169	85		25	8	14	22	27
Swe-1 totals				97	45	36	81	54		72	37	25	62	65
WHA totals				300	140	344	484	341		42	14	53	67	51

International

Year	Team	Comp		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1973	Sweden	WC		10	5	3	8	4
1974	Sweden	WC		2	0	0	0	0
1976	Sweden	CC		5	1	1	2	6
1981	Sweden	CC		4	1	2	3	2
Senior totals				21	7	6	13	12

[ Source: Wikipedia ]