Bernard Irvine Nicholls (born June 24, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, and San Jose Sharks from 1981 to 1999.
Born in Haliburton, Ontario, Nicholls played hockey from the age of four and excelled in amateur leagues before he was drafted in the fourth round of the 1980 NHL draft by the Los Angeles Kings. After a record-setting season for the Kingston Canadians in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League with over 60 goals, Nicholls signed a contract with the Kings, who did not promote him to the NHL until February 1982. Playing 22 games that year, he recorded fourteen goals and eighteen assists as he stayed in the major leagues for good. The season saw Nicholls record 41 goals to lead the team in goals as the fourth player with a 40-goal season. The season saw him record his first 100-point season on the heels of a 25-game scoring streak to go along with being the first player to score a goal in every regulation period and overtime. After five straight 75-point seasons, Nicholls, moved to the second-line at center with the acquisition of Wayne Gretzky in the offseason, had his peak with the season that saw him score 70 goals to go with 150 points to make him the eighth (and currently last) player with 70 goals and 150 points in one season.
In the middle of the season, having recorded 75 points in 47 games, Nicholls was traded to the New York Rangers, where he recorded 37 points in 32 games for his final 100-point season. In his only full season with the Rangers the following years, he recorded 73 points in 71 games before being traded after one game into the season. Honing his skills to be more of a defensive forward in his later years, Nicholls reached the Conference Finals with the Oilers, Devils, and Blackhawks but lost each time. Nicholls became the 39th player to reach 1,000 career points in 1994 with the Devils. He closed his career with the San Jose Sharks as a checking center for the fourth line before being cut in November of the season. In 1,127 games, Nicholls recorded 475 goals with 734 assists for a total of 1,209 points, which at the time was 27th most in league history. He currently has the most points of all eligible players that is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
In 2011, Nicholls joined the Los Angeles Kings as a coaching consultant and was on the staff when the team won the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, which earned Nicholls a Stanley Cup ring.
Early life Nicholls was born on June 24, 1961, in West Guilford, a municipality within Haliburton, Ontario. He was one of five children born to parents George and Marjorie Nicholls. While growing up in the small town, Nicholls was taught to hunt and skate by his father, who built a community rink behind the town schoolhouse. Since he was born pigeon toed, Nicholls wore corrective braces when he was a toddler. He began playing ice hockey at four years old alongside older boys from the area, including future NHL-er Ron Stackhouse. Beyond hockey, Nicholls also played quarterback, golf, and shortstop in fastball.
In 2021, he was inducted into the Haliburton Highlands Sports Hall of Fame.
Playing career
Amateur Nicholls played with the Junior D Haliburton Huskies from 1975 to 1977, before joining the Junior B Woodstock 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. In 1978, Nicholls was drafted by the Kingston Canadians of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL). As a rookie with the Canadians, Nicholls led all rookies in scoring with 36 goals and 79 points. Following his rookie season, Nicholls was drafted in the fourth round of the 1980 NHL entry draft by the Los Angeles Kings. Although numerous scouts were concerned about his skating, Wren Blair advised the Kings to draft him.
Nicholls returned to the Canadians for the 1980–81 season and set numerous new single-season franchise scoring records. He started the season with 14 points over five games while playing alongside Justin Hanley and Scotty Howson. He was then named the league's Player of the Week on November 17 after scoring four goals and 10 assists through four games. Nicholls maintained his scoring streak throughout February and moved into fourth place in the league's scoring race. He scored his 50th goal of the season and 200th career point later that month against the London Knights. On February 26, Nicholls broke Tony McKegney's franchise record for most points in a single season. He finished the regular season with a franchise-record 63 goals, 89 assists, and 152 total points. During the regular-season, Nicholls signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings.
Los Angeles Kings
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. After a slow start to the season, Nicholls led the league in scoring with 41 goals through 55 games. 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. Nicholls was called up to the NHL on February 18, 1982, as the Kings were experiencing a five-game losing streak. He scored his first two career NHL goals in his ninth NHL game on March 9, against the Colorado Rockies. He continued to score at a rapid pace throughout the month and recorded three hat-tricks through three consecutive home games. He scored his first career NHL hat-trick on March 17 against the Calgary Flames and his second hat-trick on March 21 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Nicholls' final hat-trick of the month occurred on March 28 against the Colorado Rockies. 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.
As he had only played in 22 games the previous year, Nicholls still maintained his rookie status upon returning for the 1982–83 season. After opening the season without a point, Nicholls experienced a seven-game point streak between October 9 and October 23. 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. 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. 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. 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.
The Los Angeles Kings started the 1983–84 season with a six-game losing streak. 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. 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." Nicholls led the team in scoring through November while consistently playing alongside Jimmy Fox and Brian MacLellan. By the end of December, he had surpassed his previous season's points total. 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. 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. The following game, Nicholls became the fourth player in franchise history to score 40 goals in a single season. He became the first player besides Marcel Dionne to lead the team in scoring in over a decade.
Nicholls broke numerous league and franchise records throughout the 1984–85 season. Although he went pointless through the team's first three games, he finished the regular season with 100 points. 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). It also marked his fifth NHL hat-trick and the second time in his career that he scored four goals. 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.
Injuries that limited Nicholls to just 65 games in the season, 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 the most productive season for Nicholls, who noted his enjoyment at playing with Gretzky, stating, "It was the opportunity of a lifetime. I got to play with arguably the greatest player in the world for one year, and I took full advantage.” He scored a team-record 70 goals and added 80 assists for a total of 150 points, with the 70th goal coming on the heels of a hat trick in the penultimate game of the season that saw him score on an empty net. The 70th goal made him only the ninth player with a 70-goal season in NHL history. Nicholls played the line with Gretzky for the power play, which saw him record 49 of his 150 points on the powerplay, although he also recorded eight short-handed goals and six short-handed assists. 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). It was the only time that Nicholls recorded a 50-goal season in his career.
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. 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. 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. Nicholls left the Kings as the franchise's fifth all-time leading scorer.
New York Rangers
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; in total, he had 39 goals and 73 assists for 112 total points for his last 100-point season as a player. The following season saw him contribute 25 goals and 48 assists for 73 points in 71 games, but playoff success eluded the Rangers in his tenure, with the team not reaching past the second round.