Ranking the 10 Best Kings of All Time: #9 Bernie Nichols

spencer lazary

Tue, Aug 13, 2024, 5:00 p.m.·2 min read

Welcome to the series where I rank the 10 greatest Los Angeles Kings ever!

At the #9 spot, Bernie Nichols. Some Kings would argue that Rogie Vachon should be in this spot; however, Nichols does deserve some love.

He played for the Kings for nine seasons before leaving the organization. During that time he collected 327 goals and 431 assists for 758 points, which puts him at sixth in all-time scoring in the Kings' organization.

In the Kings 1988-89 season, Bernie Nicholls' hat trick netted his 70th goal. #LAKings50 pic.twitter.com/wZrlCzjPLQ
— LA Kings (@LAKings) November 15, 2016

Nichols was tasked with playing before Marcel Dionne and had 50 points in 71 games. However, in his second season, he led the team in scoring with 95 points in 78 games. He would take over the top spot after Dionne's departure in 1987.

Nichols would struggle with injuries in the subsequent years after Dionne was traded. Which opened the door for Jimmy Carson to shine. For those of you who know what happened next, it opened the door again for Nichols.

In 1988, the Kings pulled off the biggest trade in their franchise history. They acquired the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, for a package headlined by Jimmy Carson.

On December 1, 1988, Bernie Nicholls set an @LAKings' record when he recorded eight points against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Nicholls had two goals and six assists, Wayne Gretzky had five assists, and Dave Taylor scored a hat trick in a 9-3 win for the #LAKings.#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/C06xY1vHvj
— The Kingstorian (@Kingstorian) December 1, 2023

This trade took some pressure off of Nichols to be the guy for the Kings, and in his first year playing behind Gretzky, he scored a career-high 150 points.

At the time of Nichols' departure in 1989-90, he was fifth in all-time scoring. However, he has fallen to sixth due to Anze Kopitar moving up the list.