Nicholls lends his ‘two cents’ to Kings ” LA Kings Insider
NICHOLLS: “[…] I played for Darryl twice, so I know what he’s all about. Seeing the guys earlier in the season, it’s a different team. […] They’ve always played great defense, but for a skilled team, it’s sad to say but they were terrible to watch. They may get 15 shots in a game […] They’ve got too much skill and too much offense to do that.
I think Darryl has allowed them to create offense. […] Darryl, he was a decent offensive player, but he understands how to create offense, and he’s allowing the players to do that.
I guess when you’ve scored 70 goals in a season you can say 40 is “decent.”
[…] NICHOLLS: “Darryl just wanted me to talk to the guys, […] encourage them or, if I have any input, give it to them. […] If I can say anything to help them or create something, I’d be more than happy to do that. […] I did this with Darryl before, in San Jose, when he coached there. When I retired, I just stayed on and helped out, did anything and watched the game, went in and talked to the guys between periods. If I saw something or had any kind of an input, I would give it to them.’’
Question: What about maybe contributing on the power play?
I like this question because it made it sound like Bernie would actually play on the power play.
NICHOLLS: “They went, I don’t know what it was, 1-for-25 or something, but you know what, it’s so close. […] Sometimes you’re just snake-bitten in that department. Maybe you just try something different, or anything. I knew, when Darryl came on board, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I would see the third or fourth line on the power play. It was, I think, the third game when the fourth line was out there.
Sounds kind of like he’s been watching the games.
[…] Yeah, you can have some ideas about what to do. If he wants that from me, I’ll be more than happy to put in my two cents and I will talk to guys about certain things that I think can help them. But it is a fine line between scoring and not scoring. […]
Question: Is coaching something you would like to do eventually, or are you happy just consulting?
NICHOLLS: “I love consulting. Coming in and working with these guys, doing whatever it is, I really enjoy that part. Being involved, player-wise and stuff like that, it’s really good. On the blackboard, on the video and stuff, I don’t know if I like that that much.