Bernie Nicholls

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Bernie Irvine Nicholls (born June 24, 1961 in Haliburton, Ontario) is a former professional ice hockey centre. His junior career was spent with the Kingston Canadians, where he established himself as a dynamic scorer and a multi-faceted talent. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, 73rd overall. Over his 17 year playing career, Nicholls would play 1127 games for six different teams, scoring 1209 points.

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[edit] Playing career

After Nicholls was drafted, he played one more year of junior before making his professional debut with the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL. He scored 41 goals in 55 games as a rookie, and was recalled to the Kings to finish the season, where he had 32 points in 22 games, and was a contributor in the playoffs, where the Kings upset the Edmonton Oilers to reach the second round. Nicholls would never again play in the minor leagues.

For the next six and a half years, Nicholls was a key offensive talent for the Kings, with his best year (79gp, 70g, 80a, 150pts) coming after the acquisition of Wayne Gretzky. However, with Stanley Cup aspirations, the Kings made the decision to trade the star centre for a pair of wingers. Nicholls joined the New York Rangers, helping to propel his new club to the second round of the playoffs.

Although Nicholls performed well for the Rangers, he was dealt after less than two full seasons to the Edmonton Oilers, as part of a blockbuster deal that saw Mark Messier join the Rangers. After just over a year with the Oilers organization, Nicholls saw himself traded again, this time to the New Jersey Devils, as Edmonton attempted to rebuild their team.

Nicholls adapted his game to become more of a defensive forward in the tight-checking system of then-Devils coach Jacques Lemaire. When his contract expired, Nicholls signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he was allowed to take more offensive liberties. He averaged better than a point-per-game in Chicago.

Nicholls finished his NHL career with the San Jose Sharks. Now aged 36, and with a young, budding franchise, Nicholls took on more of an elder statesman role. At the end of the 1998-99 NHL season, Nicholls retired.

[edit] Career Statistics

                                  Regular Season              
Season  Team                    Lge   GP   G   A    Pts  PIM   
    
1981-82 Los Angeles Kings       NHL   22   14  18   32   27 
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 
1985-86 Los Angeles Kings       NHL   80   36  61   97   78  
1986-87 Los Angeles Kings       NHL   80   33  48   81   101    
1987-88 Los Angeles Kings       NHL   65   32  46   78   114   
1988-89 Los Angeles Kings       NHL   79   70  80   150  96  
1989-90 Los Angeles/New York    NHL   79   39  73   112  86  
1990-91 New York Rangers        NHL   71   25  48   73   96  
1991-92 New York/Edmonton       NHL   50   20  29   49   60 
1992-93 Edmonton/New Jersey     NHL   69   13  47   60   80
1993-94 New Jersey Devils       NHL   61   19  27   46   86
1995    Chicago Blackhawks      NHL   48   22  29   51   32
1995-96 Chicago Blackhawks      NHL   59   19  41   60   60
1996-97 San Jose Sharks         NHL   65   12  33   45   63
1997-98 San Jose Sharks         NHL   60   6   22   28   26
1998-99 San Jose Sharks         NHL   10   0   2    2    4

                   NHL Totals         1127 475 734  1209 1292

[edit] Transactions

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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