Bernie Nicholls

Bernard Irvine Nicholls
Born	(1961-06-24) June 24, 1961 West Guilford, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Professional ice hockey centre (retired)
Years active	1981–1999
Known for	Playing in the NHL for Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks; scoring 70 goals in a single NHL season

Bernard Irvine Nicholls (born June 24, 1961) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre. Selected in the fourth round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, he participated in over 1,000 National Hockey League (NHL) contests, representing the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, and San Jose Sharks. Nicholls is among a select group of eight NHL players who have netted 70 goals in a single season and one of six to surpass 150 points. Although he accumulated more than 1,000 points during his career, he remains among the 18 eligible athletes yet to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Early life

Born on June 24, 1961, in West Guilford near Haliburton, Ontario, Nicholls was one of five siblings born to George and Marjorie Nicholls. Growing up in a small community, he acquired skills in hunting and skating under his father's guidance. Having been born with pigeon toes, he wore corrective braces during early childhood. Nicholls began playing ice hockey at age four alongside older children, including Ron Stackhouse, who would also reach the NHL. Beyond hockey, he participated as a quarterback in football and played golf and fastball as a shortstop.

Amateur

From 1975 to 1977, Nicholls competed with the Junior D Haliburton Huskies before moving on to the Junior B Navy Vets in Woodstock, Ontario, where he set a rookie franchise record by scoring 41 goals and accumulating 79 points over 40 games. In 1978, he was selected by the Kingston Canadians of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL). As a first-year player there, he led all rookies with 36 goals and totaled 79 points. Despite some scouts expressing doubts about his skating ability, advice from Wren Blair helped secure his selection by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft.

Nicholls returned to Kingston for the 1980–81 OHL season and shattered several franchise scoring records. He started impressively with 14 points across five games and earned Player of the Week honors in November after recording four goals and ten assists over four contests. He sustained a scoring streak through February and climbed to fourth place in league scoring. Achieving his 50th goal and 200th career point against the London Knights marked key milestones. On February 26, he surpassed Tony McKegney’s franchise record for most points in a single season by finishing with an unprecedented total of 63 goals, 89 assists, and 152 points. During this campaign, Nicholls signed a two-year contract with Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Kings

Nicholls commenced the 1981–82 season with the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the New Haven Nighthawks, arriving at training camp out of shape. Nonetheless, he quickly led the league by scoring 41 goals in just 55 games. Amidst team struggles on the ice, Los Angeles replaced their head coach in January 1982 with Don Perry, who prioritized younger players. Nicholls was promoted to the NHL on February 18 during a losing streak and scored his initial two NHL goals by his ninth game. In March, he achieved three consecutive home hat-tricks and concluded the season with totals of 14 goals and 18 assists in 22 games, contributing to the Kings’ playoff qualification.

Maintaining rookie eligibility for the following season due to limited prior NHL appearances, Nicholls opened the 1982–83 campaign strongly with a seven-game point streak and led rookies early in scoring. However, a knee injury sidelined him for eight games; upon return both his performance and that of the team declined. He finished with 26 points over 52 games while Los Angeles failed to reach postseason play.

During the 1983–84 season, Nicholls ended a six-game losing streak by netting four goals in one game—tying a franchise record. Coach Perry recognized him as a key team leader as Nicholls led scoring through November and exceeded his previous season’s point total by December. After suffering a jaw fracture in January, he played February with his jaw wired shut and helped halt another losing streak in March. He became only the second player after Marcel Dionne in more than ten years to lead Los Angeles in scoring.

The breakthrough year came in 1984–85 when Nicholls recorded 100 points and established a franchise record with a streak of scoring in 25 consecutive games—the fourth-longest such run in NHL history at that time. He also became the first NHL player ever to score during all four periods of a game. Despite injuries restricting him to just 65 games during the 1987–88 season and competition from emerging star Jimmy Carson, Nicholls remained an integral contributor.

Following Wayne Gretzky’s acquisition by Los Angeles in August 1988, Nicholls took on the role of second-line center behind Gretzky during his most prolific season: setting a team record with 70 goals and amassing a total of 150 points—joining an elite group as one of only eight players to reach 70 goals and one of five to hit the 150-point mark in NHL history. Despite these achievements, he did not earn votes for the Hart Trophy.

Nicholls continued performing at a high level into the subsequent season highlighted by an eight-point game against Toronto—an accomplishment achieved by only thirteen players ever. Selected for that year’s All-Star Game alongside Gretzky and others, he was traded to the New York Rangers shortly before the event as Los Angeles pursued toughness through acquiring Tomas Sandström and Tony Granato amid an underwhelming season performance. Upon departing Los Angeles, Nicholls ranked fifth all-time in franchise scoring.

New York Rangers

Following the All-Star Game, Nicholls joined the New York Rangers and sustained a scoring rate exceeding one point per game. In the subsequent season, he once again maintained over a point per game but managed only 25 goals, with the Rangers being eliminated in the initial playoff round. After just one game in the 1991–92 season, Rangers General Manager Neil Smith traded Nicholls along with prospects Steven Rice and Louie DeBrusk to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Mark Messier. Nicholls postponed his move to Edmonton for two months due to his wife’s high-risk pregnancy, ultimately joining the team after the birth of their twins and sacrificing more than $250,000 in salary.

Edmonton Oilers

Once Nicholls became part of the Oilers, he tallied 49 points across 49 games and delivered an impressive playoff performance, playing a key role in Edmonton’s advancement to the Conference Final. He notably achieved five goals and 13 points during a six-game series victory over his former team, the Los Angeles Kings. The following season saw a decline in his output, leading to a trade sending him to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forwards Kevin Todd and Zdeno Ciger, fulfilling his wish to return to the Eastern Conference.

Later career

Under coach Jacques Lemaire with the Devils, Nicholls adapted to a defensive forward role within a disciplined, defense-oriented system. Upon expiration of his contract, he secured a two-year agreement with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nicholls began the 1998–99 season playing on the fourth line of the San Jose Sharks. In November, Sharks General Manager Dean Lombardi recommended that Nicholls retire and transition into a front-office position. At the time of retirement, he was ranked 26th all-time in NHL points and 32nd in goals scored.

Post-retirement

Following the dismissal of Terry Murray by the Kings, Nicholls extended an invitation to new head coach Darryl Sutter to join as a coaching consultant. Initially unpaid for two months—with only accommodation and meals provided—Sutter was subsequently placed on the payroll. His advisory role contributed significantly to the Kings’ triumph in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.

In November 2022, Nicholls released his autobiography titled Bernie Nicholls: From Flood Lights to Bright Lights.

International play

Representing Canada, Nicholls secured a silver medal at the 1985 World Ice Hockey Championships.

Regular season and playoffs

				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
_bgcolor="#f0f0f0" _|1995-96 NHL season _|Chicago Blackhawks _|NHL _|59|||19|||41|||60|||60 _|10|||2|||7|||9|||4 _-bgcolor="#f0f0f0" _|1996-97 NHL season _|San Jose Sharks _|NHL _|65|||12|||33|||45|||63 _|—|||—|||—|||—|||— _- _|1997-98 NHL season _|San Jose Sharks _|NHL _|60|||6|||22|||28|||26 _|6|||0|||5|||5|||8 _-bgcolor="#f0f0f0" _|1998-99 NHL season _|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

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

See also

• List of NHL players with 1,000 games played
• List of NHL players with 1,000 points