Four players in NHL history have scored at least 70 goals and finished with at least 150 points. Nicholls, who did it with the Los Angeles Kings in 1988-89, is one of the four, along with Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Phil Esposito.

The Kings selected Nicholls in the fourth round (No. 73) in the 1980 NHL Draft after he scored 36 goals in his first full season with Kingston of the Ontario Hockey Association. He scored 152 points (63 goals, 89 assists) the following season and started 1981-82 by scoring 41 goals in 55 games with New Haven of the American Hockey League before being called up by the Kings. Nicholls scored 14 goals (including hat tricks in three consecutive home games) and finished with 32 points in 22 games, then scored the series-winning goal during the Kings' first-round upset of the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Nicholls scored 41 goals in 1983-84 and 46 in 1984-85, when he reached 100 points for the first time. He scored at least 30 goals in each of the next three seasons before having a career year in 1988-89. With Wayne Gretzky having arrived in a trade with the Oilers on Aug. 9, 1988, Nicholls scored one goal and assisted on two others on opening night and capped his season by scoring three goals and setting up two others against the Vancouver Canucks on April 1, 1989.

But after reaching the All-Star break in January 1990 with 28 goals and 75 points in 47 games, the Kings traded Nicholls to the New York Rangers on Jan. 20, 1990. He scored 12 goals and finished with 37 points in 32 games after the trade, helping New York win the Patrick Division -- the first time the Rangers finished first since 1941-42.

Nicholls never scored again the way he did with the Kings, but he remained a productive player for the remainder of the decade, which included time with the Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks. He helped New Jersey reach Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in 1994 and averaged more than a point a game in two seasons with the Blackhawks.

After playing his final three seasons with the Sharks, Nicholls retired following the 1998-99 season with 1,209 points (475 goals, 734 assists) in 1,127 NHL games, as well as 114 points (42 goals, 72 assists) in 118 playoff games.