Puck Daddy chats with Bernie Nicholls about his day with the Stanley Cup and future with LA Kings

@bernienicholls9At the beginning of January Bernie Nicholls returned to the Los Angeles Kings. It wasn't in a management or ambassador role. Instead, he took on the role of consultant working with the Kings during practices, helping out head coach Darryl Sutter. He wanted to help because as he told the LA Times' Bill Plaschke during the Stanley Cup Final, "I was a King once, I wanted to be a King again, it was all fine."

The 51-year old Nicholls never played in a Final during his 18-year NHL career that saw him finish with 475 goals and 1209 points. He played in three Conference Finals, but when the Kings won the Cup in June, it was his first taste of a championship.

On Wednesday, Nicholls used his day with the Cup to take it back to his hometown of West Guilford, Ont., bringing it to a local hockey rink, a marina in nearby Haliburton, his family camp and his house on the lake.

"I just tried to give it back to the community where I played hockey," Nicholls told Puck Daddy on Thursday.

"Yesterday was kind of the icing on the cake. When Walt [Neubrand, one of the Cup keepers] opened the case up and I got to take it out, and my mom and dad see it, and my brothers and my sisters [see it], that was really pretty cool."

That photo above of Nicholls up in a tree, decked out in hunting gear, compound bow drawn and ready with the Cup on watch duty? It was posed, sadly. Nicholls didn't have time in the day to go out, where he hunts deer and moose, but still managed to get that badass shot.

In just over two months (let's hope) the Kings will open up the 2012-13 season and attempt to become the first NHL team to repeat as champions since the Detroit Red Wings went back-to-back in 1997 and 1998. The grind to earn the right to call yourself a Stanley Cup champion is worth it in the end, making the 24 hours players, coaches and staff get to spend with the trophy all the more meaningful.

"It's just so cool to see the thing passed around. It's the greatest tradition in sports," said Nicholls. "I can't believe other sports wouldn't do that for someone who wins the championship -- they get that trophy for the whole year and every player gets it for a day. To me that is the coolest thing that there is. I can't believe we're the only one that does that."

Asked about his future, Nicholls said he's under the assumption he'll be back working again with the Kings next season. Assistant coach Jamie Kompon, who didn't have his contract renewed at the end of June and moved on to the Chicago Blackhawks, was notified not long after the season concluded. Nicholls hasn't heard anything from the team one way or another at the point, believing he would have been told already if he wasn't returning.

"It'd be fun to do the same thing that I did last year, but obviously it's up to Darryl and whatever they want," said Nicholls.

"If there's a place for that again this year, I'd love to do it."

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Why Shane Doan should go; Stanley Cup witnesses marriage proposal (Puck Headlines)

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

@kwesty19

• Kevin Westgarth of the Los Angeles Kings shows us exactly what 76,000 pages of NHL financial documents looks like. [@KWesty19]

• "The Players' Association still has not received all the financial documentation -- primarily the independently audited information for the league's clubs -- requested from the NHL and has no intent to submit a proposal until that information is received and then analyzed." [ESPN New York]

• The Detroit Red Wings announced that Slava Fetisov, Sergei Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov and Igor Larionov will participate in the Winter Classic alumni festivities. Fetisov, Fedorov and Larionov will take part in the Alumni Game against the Maple Leafs. Konstantinov will serve as an ambassador. [Red Wings]

• Bourne with a strong take on why Shane Doan should move on from Phoenix. [Backhand Shelf]

• P.K. Subban was reportedly offered a 2-year, $5.5 million contract that his agent quickly shot down, adding nothing is imminent. It's Aug. 2 and Subban is still a restricted free agent. Where are the offer sheets? [Hockey Inside/Out]

• Bruce Ratner, a real estate developer who's currently building a state-of-the-art arena for the Brooklyn Nets, on the potential of luring the New York Islanders there: "I am trying like hell to get the Islanders to make Barclays Center their new hockey home." The Islanders' lease at Nassau Coliseum is up in 2015. [NY Daily News]

• USA Hockey announced that its 2012 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in Dallas. Among this years nominees includes Mike Modano. How fast will tickets go now? [USA Hockey]

• Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown will be the honorary starter at the Finger Lakes 355 NASCAR race at Watkins Glen next weekend. [Syracuse.com]

• It's almost fantasy hockey season. Speaking of that, who are the top fantasy hockey players of all-time? [NHL.com]

• Please welcome Not Another Hockey Blog to the blogosphere. [NAHB]

• If you could choose only one, would it be Pavel Datsyuk or Joe Thornton? [Eye on Hockey]

• An adult rec league hockey game in Texas ended when a player hit an opponent in the face with his stick after a baseball-style swing. The player was later arrested under suspicion of assault. [KHOU]

• The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed college free agent Jayson Megna to a 2-year, $1.87 million deal. The 22-year old scored 13 goals and 31 points last season at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. [Penguins]

• Do you like novels? Do you like romance novels? Do you like hockey romance novels? Then Daniel Wagner has a Top 5 list for you. [Backhand Shelf]

• After losing his brother, Detroit Red Wings forward Jordin Tootoo is supporting the Aboriginal Youth Council as they try to help prevent youth suicide. [CBC]

• Off-season winners and losers in the Pacific Division. [Fear the Fin]

• Finally, Justin Williams' brother-in-law decided to propose to his girlfriend with the Stanley Cup in their presence. The couple then celebrated with a drink:

Puck Daddy chats with Bernie Nicholls about his day with the Stanley Cup and future with LA Kings

@bernienicholls9At the beginning of January Bernie Nicholls returned to the Los Angeles Kings. It wasn't in a management or ambassador role. Instead, he took on the role of consultant working with the Kings during practices, helping out head coach Darryl Sutter. He wanted to help because as he told the LA Times' Bill Plaschke during the Stanley Cup Final, "I was a King once, I wanted to be a King again, it was all fine."

The 51-year old Nicholls never played in a Final during his 18-year NHL career that saw him finish with 475 goals and 1209 points. He played in three Conference Finals, but when the Kings won the Cup in June, it was his first taste of a championship.

On Wednesday, Nicholls used his day with the Cup to take it back to his hometown of West Guilford, Ont., bringing it to a local hockey rink, a marina in nearby Haliburton, his family camp and his house on the lake.

"I just tried to give it back to the community where I played hockey," Nicholls told Puck Daddy on Thursday.

"Yesterday was kind of the icing on the cake. When Walt [Neubrand, one of the Cup keepers] opened the case up and I got to take it out, and my mom and dad see it, and my brothers and my sisters [see it], that was really pretty cool."

That photo above of Nicholls up in a tree, decked out in hunting gear, compound bow drawn and ready with the Cup on watch duty? It was posed, sadly. Nicholls didn't have time in the day to go out, where he hunts deer and moose, but still managed to get that badass shot.

In just over two months (let's hope) the Kings will open up the 2012-13 season and attempt to become the first NHL team to repeat as champions since the Detroit Red Wings went back-to-back in 1997 and 1998. The grind to earn the right to call yourself a Stanley Cup champion is worth it in the end, making the 24 hours players, coaches and staff get to spend with the trophy all the more meaningful.

"It's just so cool to see the thing passed around. It's the greatest tradition in sports," said Nicholls. "I can't believe other sports wouldn't do that for someone who wins the championship -- they get that trophy for the whole year and every player gets it for a day. To me that is the coolest thing that there is. I can't believe we're the only one that does that."

Asked about his future, Nicholls said he's under the assumption he'll be back working again with the Kings next season. Assistant coach Jamie Kompon, who didn't have his contract renewed at the end of June and moved on to the Chicago Blackhawks, was notified not long after the season concluded. Nicholls hasn't heard anything from the team one way or another at the point, believing he would have been told already if he wasn't returning.

"It'd be fun to do the same thing that I did last year, but obviously it's up to Darryl and whatever they want," said Nicholls.

"If there's a place for that again this year, I'd love to do it."

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Why Shane Doan should go; Stanley Cup witnesses marriage proposal (Puck Headlines)

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

@kwesty19

• Kevin Westgarth of the Los Angeles Kings shows us exactly what 76,000 pages of NHL financial documents looks like. [@KWesty19]

• "The Players' Association still has not received all the financial documentation -- primarily the independently audited information for the league's clubs -- requested from the NHL and has no intent to submit a proposal until that information is received and then analyzed." [ESPN New York]

• The Detroit Red Wings announced that Slava Fetisov, Sergei Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov and Igor Larionov will participate in the Winter Classic alumni festivities. Fetisov, Fedorov and Larionov will take part in the Alumni Game against the Maple Leafs. Konstantinov will serve as an ambassador. [Red Wings]

• Bourne with a strong take on why Shane Doan should move on from Phoenix. [Backhand Shelf]

• P.K. Subban was reportedly offered a 2-year, $5.5 million contract that his agent quickly shot down, adding nothing is imminent. It's Aug. 2 and Subban is still a restricted free agent. Where are the offer sheets? [Hockey Inside/Out]

• Bruce Ratner, a real estate developer who's currently building a state-of-the-art arena for the Brooklyn Nets, on the potential of luring the New York Islanders there: "I am trying like hell to get the Islanders to make Barclays Center their new hockey home." The Islanders' lease at Nassau Coliseum is up in 2015. [NY Daily News]

• USA Hockey announced that its 2012 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in Dallas. Among this years nominees includes Mike Modano. How fast will tickets go now? [USA Hockey]

• Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown will be the honorary starter at the Finger Lakes 355 NASCAR race at Watkins Glen next weekend. [Syracuse.com]

• It's almost fantasy hockey season. Speaking of that, who are the top fantasy hockey players of all-time? [NHL.com]

• Please welcome Not Another Hockey Blog to the blogosphere. [NAHB]

• If you could choose only one, would it be Pavel Datsyuk or Joe Thornton? [Eye on Hockey]

• An adult rec league hockey game in Texas ended when a player hit an opponent in the face with his stick after a baseball-style swing. The player was later arrested under suspicion of assault. [KHOU]

• The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed college free agent Jayson Megna to a 2-year, $1.87 million deal. The 22-year old scored 13 goals and 31 points last season at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. [Penguins]

• Do you like novels? Do you like romance novels? Do you like hockey romance novels? Then Daniel Wagner has a Top 5 list for you. [Backhand Shelf]

• After losing his brother, Detroit Red Wings forward Jordin Tootoo is supporting the Aboriginal Youth Council as they try to help prevent youth suicide. [CBC]

• Off-season winners and losers in the Pacific Division. [Fear the Fin]

• Finally, Justin Williams' brother-in-law decided to propose to his girlfriend with the Stanley Cup in their presence. The couple then celebrated with a drink: