Nichol has never been a big point producer, so his eight points in 2011-12 shouldn't be seen as anything other than the typical production from a fourth-line center. At age 37 (38 come December), Nichol knows his role. He's a faceoff specialist -- Nichol led the Blues' regular faceoff men at 57.6 percent -- and a sometimes agitator.
Nichol had a season to forget with San Jose in 2010-11, as he managed just seven points in 56 games. To be fair, his season was cut short by an upper-body injury that kept him off the ice for 20 games. Showing his trademark character, Nichol played through a torn labrum in the postseason but was ineffective based on his minus-7 rating and no points. The center, who had offseason surgery to fix the shoulder issue, now finds himself with the Blues after signing a one-year contract with the club this past July. Despite the new digs, Nichol's role is expected to stay the same - he's great in the faceoff circle and brings plenty of energy, but that doesn't necessarily translate into success in the fantasy realm.
Does Nichol have to pay property tax for owning the faceoff circle? Nichol won 60.6 percent of his draws last season, helping him become an invaluable member of the Sharks. Further, he does all of the dirty work that doesn't often show up in the box score, such as the 226 hits that he laid on opponents in 2009-10. It's tough to assign a quantitative value to Nichol in real life - he's nearly indispensable. But in the fantasy realm, it would be smart to avoid him because his offensive output figures to be limited.
In spite of being only 5-foot-8, 173, Nichol’s fondness for delivering hits should negate the loss of fourth-line center Marcel Goc. Nichol averaged just over 11 minutes of ice time per game with Nashville last season, and that’s not expected to change dramatically when he suits up in teal.
Nichol is a useful player and face-off specialist who has played his last three professional seasons with the Preds. He's not a tremendous scorer, but he did post career-best numbers last season. Nichol scored 10 goals and eight assists in 73 games serving a very specific role for Nashville. His numbers shouldn't change much this season since he'll be doing the dirty, unglamorous work again.
Nichol is a face-off specialist who has played his last two seasons between Nashville and AHL affiliate Milwaukee. He's not a tremendous scorer, but he should see an increased offensive role with the Predators this season. Nichol could push the 30-point plateau with the role and ice time he will receive in 2007-08.
Nichol is a blue-collar, journeyman center. He's amassed 242 games over his career but has never really been an offensive threat. Nichol is likely to play a partial season for the Predators again this season but with little if any fantasy value.
Nichols is a scrappy fourth-line center who can get you triple-digit penalty minutes and double-digit points in a good year.
