The 10 greatest L.A. Kings of all time, No. 9: Bernie Nicholls

Our series counting down the fans’ choices for the top 10 Kings of all time continues with the man who made the “Pumper-Nicholl” famous.

No. 9: Bernie Nicholls (seven first-place votes, 3,124 points)

Nicholls was an offensive force for the Kings from the day he arrived from the minors during the 1981-82 season, to the day he was traded in 1990.

He had his greatest success in 1988-89, scoring 70 goals and having 80 assists playing alongside Wayne Gretzky.

During that season, he became one of only 12 players to ever record an eight-point game in NHL history.

The Kings sent Nicholls to the New York Rangers on Jan. 24, 1990, for winger Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato, helping to set up their Stanley Cup Finals run a couple of seasons later.

Nicholls is fourth on the Kings’ career goal-scoring list with 327, fifth in assists with 431 and fifth in points with 758.

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