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Bernie Nicholls

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Bernie Nicholls
Nicholls in 2016
Born (1961-06-24) June 24, 1961 (age 64)
Haliburton, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Los Angeles Kings
New York Rangers
Edmonton Oilers
New Jersey Devils
Chicago Blackhawks
San Jose Sharks
National team  Canada
NHL draft 73rd overall, 1980
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 1981–1999

Bernard Irvine Nicholls (born June 24, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. After being drafted in the fourth round of the 1980 NHL entry draft, he played over 1000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks. Nicholls is one of only eight players in NHL history to score 70 goals in one season, and one of six to score 150 points. However, he is one of 18 eligible players with 1,000 points not to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Early life

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Nicholls was born on June 24, 1961, in West Guilford, a municipality within Haliburton, Ontario.[1] He was one of five children born to parents George and Marjorie Nicholls.[2] While growing up in the small town, Nicholls was taught to hunt and skate by his father.[3] Since he was born pigeon toed, Nicholls wore corrective braces when he was a toddler.[4] He began playing ice hockey at four years old alongside older boys from the area, including future NHL-er Ron Stackhouse.[5] Beyond hockey, Nicholls also played quarterback, golf, and shortstop in fastball.[4]

Playing career

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Amateur

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Nicholls played with the Junior D Haliburton Huskies from 1975 to 1977, before joining the Junior B Navy Vets in Woodstock, Ontario. During his sole season with the Vets, Nicholls set a franchise rookie record with 41 goals and 79 points through 40 games.[4] In 1978, Nicholls was drafted by the Kingston Canadians of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL).[6] As a rookie with the Canadians, Nicholls led all rookies in scoring with 36 goals and 79 points.[7] Following his rookie season, Nicholls was drafted in the fourth round of the 1980 NHL entry draft by the Los Angeles Kings.[8] Although numerous scouts were concerned about his skating, Wren Blair advised the Kings to draft him.[3]

Nicholls returned to the Canadians for the 1980–81 season and set numerous new single-season franchise scoring records.[9] He started the season with 14 points over five games while playing alongside Justin Hanley and Scotty Howson.[10] He was then named the league's Player of the Week on November 17 after scoring four goals and 10 assists through four games.[11] Nicholls maintained his scoring streak throughout February and moved into fourth place in the league's scoring race.[12] He scored his 50th goal of the season and 200th career point later that month against the London Knights.[13] On February 26, Nicholls broke Tony McKegney's franchise record for most points in a single season.[14] He finished the regular season with a franchise-record 63 goals, 89 assists, and 152 total points.[9] During the regular-season, Nicholls signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings.[15]

Los Angeles Kings

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Nicholls arrived at the Kings' 1981 training camp overweight and out of shape. As such, he was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL), the New Haven Nighthawks, to start the 1981–82 season.[16] After a slow start to the season,[3] Nicholls led the league in scoring with 41 goals through 55 games.[17] The Kings, however, were struggling to win games and eventually replaced their head coach on January 11. As their new head coach, Don Perry made significant changes to their lineup and worked to allow younger players more chances.[18] Nicholls was called up to the NHL on February 18, 1982, as the Kings were experiencing a five-game losing streak.[19] He scored his first two career NHL goals in his ninth NHL game on March 9, against the Colorado Rockies.[20] He continued to score at a rapid pace throughout the month and recorded three hat-tricks through three consecutive home games.[21] He scored his first career NHL hat-trick on March 17 against the Calgary Flames[22] and his second hat-trick on March 21 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.[23] Nicholls' final hat-trick of the month occurred on March 28 against the Colorado Rockies.[24] He finished the regular-season with 14 goals and 18 assists through 22 games and helped the Kings qualify for the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs.[19]

As he had only played in 22 games the previous year, Nicholls still maintained his rookie status upon returning for the 1982–83 season.[18] After opening the season without a point, Nicholls experienced a seven-game point streak between October 9 and October 23.[25] By November 8, Nicholls led all rookies in scoring with 21 points and was an early favourite to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year.[18][26] However, he suffered a knee injury in mid-November and was expected to miss four weeks to recover. At the time, he led the team in scoring and all rookies in points.[27] Nicholls missed only eight games due to the injury and returned a week early on December 9. However, head coach Don Perry was critical of Nicholls in his first game back and theorised that he came back before he was ready.[28] Both Nicholls and the Kings struggled the remainder of the season, and USA Today sportswriter Rod Beaton attributed the team’s failure to qualify for the 1983 Stanley Cup playoffs to Nicholls’s performance. After returning from his knee injury, Nicholls recorded only 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in 52 games.[29]

The Los Angeles Kings started the 1983–84 season with a six-game losing streak.[30] Nicholls helped break the streak while also tying a franchise record by scoring four goals and six points on October 21 against the Edmonton Oilers.[31] Head coach Don Perry praised Nicholls' attitude, saying "Bernie (Nicholls) has done a complete turnaround, both on and off the ice this year. He's become a team leader now."[32] Nicholls led the team in scoring through November while consistently playing alongside Jimmy Fox and Brian MacLellan.[33] By the end of December, he had surpassed his previous season's points total.[34] Nicholls fractured his jaw during a game against the Calgary Flames at the end of January, but played two more games before getting his jaw wired shut.[35] Despite this, he played the entirety of February with his jaw wired shut before cutting the wires in an airport before the Kings' March 11 game against the Chicago Black Hawks. He scored two goals that night to help the Kings end their franchise record losing streak.[36] The following game, Nicholls became the fourth player in franchise history to score 40 goals in a single season.[37] He became the first player besides Marcel Dionne to lead the team in scoring in over a decade.[38]

Nicholls broke numerous league and franchise records throughout the 1984–85 season. Although he went pointless through the team's first three games,[39] he finished the regular season with 100 points.[40] On November 13, 1984, Nicholls became the first player in NHL history to score a goal in all four periods of a game (including overtime).[41] It also marked his fifth NHL hat-trick and the second time in his career that he scored four goals.[42] The following month, Nicholls set a new franchise record by maintaining a 25-game scoring streak. It was also the fourth-longest scoring streak in NHL history at the time.[39][43]

Injuries that limited Nicholls to just 65 games in 1987–88, and the rise of young centre Jimmy Carson, saw Nicholls slip to third in team scoring. On August 9, 1988, the Kings completed a blockbuster trade that brought Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles. Slotting into the second-line centre job behind Gretzky set the stage for Nicholls' most productive season. He scored a team-record 70 goals and added 80 assists for a total of 150 points. The totals put Nicholls in rare company, and with 70 goals, he joined a group of just eight players to hit that plateau and his 150 points put him a group of just five players in league history to achieve that level of scoring.[44] Despite this, he did not receive any votes for the Hart Memorial Trophy (he finished 2nd in goals, 5th in assists, and 4th in points).

The following season, Nicholls continued producing points for Los Angeles, highlighted by an eight-point effort on December 1, 1988, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which put Nicholls into another small group, becoming one of only 13 players in NHL history to record an eight-point game.[45] By the All-Star break, Nicholls had 75 points in 47 games and was selected, along with teammates Gretzky, Luc Robitaille and Steve Duchesne to play in the All-Star Game. The night before the All-Star Game, the Kings traded Nicholls to the New York Rangers in exchange for wingers Tomas Sandström and Tony Granato.[46] Despite now playing for an Eastern Conference team, Nicholls played in the All-Star Game the next day representing the Western Conference (and playing against his new teammate Brian Leetch.) Despite his solid offensive production, the Kings were having a mediocre season with a 21-21-5 record at the time of the deal. Kings owner Bruce McNall felt "something was missing" and that the Kings were "soft" and needed some grit.[44] Nicholls left the Kings as the franchise's fifth all-time leading scorer.[47]

New York Rangers

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Nicholls at an Alumni Game in 2008.

Nicholls joined the New York Rangers following the All-Star Game and while he did not keep up his torrid scoring pace, he did produce at over a point-a-game pace for New York. The following season he again was over a point-a-game but his goal production dipped to just 25, and the Rangers were eliminated in the first round of the Playoffs. Just one game into the 1991–92 season Nicholls was again involved in a blockbuster transaction when Rangers general manager Neil Smith packaged him up with prospects Steven Rice and Louie DeBrusk and shipped him to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Mark Messier. Nicholls, however, did not report to the Oilers for two full months because his wife was pregnant with twins and on bed rest. A week after the babies were born, he finally left New York to join the Oilers after surrendering over a quarter of a million dollars in salary for not reporting.[48]

Edmonton Oilers

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When Nicholls did finally join the Oilers, he posted 49 points in 49 games with the Oilers. He saved his best production for the post season where he helped lead the Oilers to the Conference Final. He was particularly effective in the first round where he posted five goals and 13 points in a six-game defeat of his former team, the Los Angeles Kings. However, the following year, his production slowed down and the Oilers finally accommodated his wish to move back East when they dealt him to the New Jersey Devils for young forwards Kevin Todd and Zdeno Ciger.

Later career

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Nicholls adapted his game to become more of a defensive forward in the tight-checking system of then-Devils coach Jacques Lemaire.[49] When his contract expired, Nicholls signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nicholls began the 1998–99 season on the San Jose Sharks' fourth line. In November, Sharks General Manager Dean Lombardi suggested that Nicholls retire and join the Sharks' front office. At the time of his retirement, he ranked 26th in NHL history in points and 32nd in goals.[50]

Post-retirement

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Following the Kings' firing of Terry Murray, Nicholls asked their new head coach Darryl Sutter to join the team as a coaching consultant. He was unpaid for the first two months, with the Kings only covering his hotel room and meals, before being added to their payroll. As a consultant, he helped the Kings win the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.[51]

Nicholls' autobiography Bernie Nicholls: From Flood Lights to Bright Lights was released in November 2022.

International play

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Medal record
Representing  Canada
Men's ice hockey
Silver medal – second place 1985 Czechoslovakia

Nicholls won a silver medal in the 1985 World Ice Hockey Championships while playing for Canada.[52]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1978–79 North York Rangers OPJHL 50 40 62 102 60 — — — — —
1978–79 Kingston Canadians OMJHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1979–80 Kingston Canadians OMJHL 68 36 43 79 85 3 1 0 1 10
1980–81 Kingston Canadians OHL 65 63 89 152 109 14 8 10 18 17
1981–82 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 55 41 30 71 31 — — — — —
1981–82 Los Angeles Kings NHL 22 14 18 32 27 10 4 0 4 23
1982–83 Los Angeles Kings NHL 71 28 22 50 124 — — — — —
1983–84 Los Angeles Kings NHL 78 41 54 95 83 — — — — —
1984–85 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 46 54 100 76 3 1 1 2 9
1985–86 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 36 61 97 78 — — — — —
1986–87 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 33 48 81 101 5 2 5 7 6
1987–88 Los Angeles Kings NHL 65 32 46 78 114 5 2 6 8 11
1988–89 Los Angeles Kings NHL 79 70 80 150 96 11 7 9 16 12
1989–90 Los Angeles Kings NHL 47 27 48 75 66 — — — — —
1989–90 New York Rangers NHL 32 12 25 37 20 10 7 5 12 16
1990–91 New York Rangers NHL 71 25 48 73 96 5 4 3 7 8
1991–92 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1991–92 Edmonton Oilers NHL 49 20 29 49 60 16 8 11 19 25
1992–93 Edmonton Oilers NHL 46 8 32 40 40 — — — — —
1992–93 New Jersey Devils NHL 23 5 15 20 40 5 0 0 0 6
1993–94 New Jersey Devils NHL 61 19 27 46 86 16 4 9 13 28
1994–95 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 48 22 29 51 32 16 1 11 12 8
1995–96 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 59 19 41 60 60 10 2 7 9 4
1996–97 San Jose Sharks NHL 65 12 33 45 63 — — — — —
1997–98 San Jose Sharks NHL 60 6 22 28 26 6 0 5 5 8
1998–99 San Jose Sharks NHL 10 0 2 2 4 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,127 475 734 1,209 1,292 118 42 72 114 164

International

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Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1985 Canada WC 10 0 2 2 12

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bernie Nicholls". Elite Prospects. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  2. ^ Turchansky, Ray (January 7, 1989). "Bernie sees a brand-new attitude among the Kings". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved October 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c McManis, Sam (November 8, 1982). "Nicholls". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Smith, Cory (December 27, 2023). "'I knew he would go places': Former NHL star Bernie Nicholls set multiple records in his only season with the Woodstock Navy Vets". Woodstock Sentinel-Review. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  5. ^ Lum, Darren (November 18, 2021). "West Guilford son takes place among Hall of Famers". Haliburton Echo. Archived from the original on October 19, 2025. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  6. ^ Wright, Art (June 5, 1978). "First-round pick another Crombeen". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved October 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Postmortem". The Kingston Whig-Standard. March 29, 1980. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Stothers couldn't believe he was a first-round pick". The Kingston Whig-Standard. June 12, 1980. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b "Nicholls is Kingston's top Canadian". The Kingston Whig-Standard. March 19, 1981. Retrieved October 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Scilley, Claude (October 24, 1980). "Nicholls does his sharpshooting in rink...not in wilds". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Nicholls named player-of-week". The Windsor Star. November 18, 1980. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Scilley, Claude (February 2, 1981). "Canadians end three-year win famine". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Gordanier, Tim (February 14, 1981). "Canadiens ignore the calendar and Emms hex". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Canadians 3 Petes 2". The Windsor Star. February 27, 1981. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Nicholls signs with NHL's Kings". The Kingston Whig-Standard. March 6, 1981. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Scilley, Claude (January 4, 1983). "Bernie's not dreamin' in California". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Nicholls joins Kings tonight". The Daily Breeze. February 20, 1982. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b c Duhatschek, Eric (November 9, 1982). "Kings' kid cooking". Calgary Herald. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ a b Gasher, Mike (April 16, 1982). "Confident, cocky kids carry Kings". The Province. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Kings 2, Rockies 0". The Duluth News Tribune. March 10, 1982. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ^ McLean, Dan (March 28, 1982). "Kings' Nicholls makes a point with hat trick". The Daily Breeze. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Kings 9, Flames 4". The Lompoc Record. March 18, 1982. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Kings 7, Penguins 5". Pacific Daily News. March 22, 1982. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Hockey". The Miami Herald. March 29, 1982. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "What Nicholls Has Meant to the Kings So Far". The Los Angeles Times. November 8, 1982. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  26. ^ McManis, Sam (November 8, 1982). "Nicholls Has the Kings' Offense All Pumped Up". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "No joy for L.A. Kings despite their 4-1 in". Santa Barbara News-Press. November 19, 1982. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  28. ^ McManis, Sam (December 11, 1982). "Nicholls Comes Back Early but Rusty". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Beaton, Rod (April 6, 1983). "L.A. poor without Nicholls". USA Today. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Kings vs. Oilers". The Los Angeles Times. October 20, 1983. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Nicholls personally buries Oilers shot at NHL history". Red Deer Advocate. October 21, 1983. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "Kings stop unbeaten Oilers for first win". The Tampa Tribune. October 21, 1983. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  33. ^ Olson, Arv (November 16, 1983). "Tanti now facing jinx?". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  34. ^ Hanley, Bob (December 31, 1983). "Porous Leafs facing three top shooters". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  35. ^ "Nicholls lost to Kings with a broken jaw". The Daily Breeze. February 5, 1984. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  36. ^ McManis, Sam (March 12, 1984). "Kings Come to One End, but Another End Is in Sight". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "NHL Roundup". The Daily Herald-Tribune. March 15, 1984. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  38. ^ Duhatschek, Eric (March 26, 1985). "Nicholls is a big hit in Hollywood". Calgary Herald. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  39. ^ a b Matheson, Jim (December 13, 1984). "Nicholls aims at 30-game mark". Edmonton Journal – via newspapers.com.
  40. ^ "Los Angeles at Edmonton". Minnesota Star Tribune. April 10, 1985. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  41. ^ "On This Date". Bucks County Courier Times. November 13, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  42. ^ "Patient Bernie Nicholls scores 4 goal for Kings". The Post-Crescent. November 14, 1984. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  43. ^ Patton, Gregg (December 16, 1984). "A King gets commoner treatment". The San Bernardino County Sun. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  44. ^ a b "Remembering the Bernie Nicholls Trade". Big Mouth Larry. 28 January 2012.
  45. ^ "Bernie Nicholls Breaks Three Team Scoring Records, Becomes League's Leading Scorer". The Alliance Times-Herald. December 2, 1988. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  46. ^ Springer, Steve (January 20, 1990). "Nicholls Goes to Rangers: Kings: They get right wingers Sandstrom and Granato for third-leading scorer in NHL. McNall, Vachon say it will improve defense". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  47. ^ Hammond, Rich (June 2, 2008). "Catching up with…Bernie Nicholls". insidesocal.com. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  48. ^ "Edmonton Oilers history: Bernie Nicholls reports to team 2 months after being acquired in Mark Messier trade, Dec. 6, 1991". The Edmonton Journal.
  49. ^ Murphy, Austin (April 3, 1995). "On Top Again". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  50. ^ "Bernie Nicholls retires". Daily Record. November 24, 1998. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  51. ^ Plaschke, Bill (June 3, 2012). "Bernie back with the Kings". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  52. ^ "Weekend Sports Happenings". Daily Gleaner. May 6, 1985. Retrieved October 22, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
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