Pincer protic N-heterocyclic carbene (PNHC) complexes were synthesized by direct metalation, the formation of a metal carbon bond from an unfunctionalized CH bond in a single synthetic step. Significantly, direct metalation succeeded even for a first-row metal, nickel. The chloride complexes were isolated and then converted to the acetate, triflate, or in the platinum case, a hydride analogue. Crystal structures and (1) H, (13) C, and (15) N NMR data, as well as IR spectra, document the effects of intramolecular hydrogen bonding and the planar but flexible pincer framework. Anti-Markovnikov addition of OH bonds to alkynes, including catalyzed alkyne hydration, were demonstrated on the Pt triflate analog.