Nick Cousins may be a divisive player, but a team was going to give him a chance next season. The veteran wisely waited for an opportunity that appealed to him and he seems to have found it with the Ottawa Senators.
The 31-year-old athlete has come a long way towards his hometown of Belleville by accepting the Ontario club’s one-year, $800,000 offer. Cousins was one of the few winners of the most recent Stanley Cup still available and he intends to bring the “Sens” his experience from recent seasons with the Florida Panthers.
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“It was important for me to find the right destination and go with a team that I could help and where I could have a role. With my two Cup finals in the last two years, I believe I can help this young group,” he explained Friday to the “Ottawa Citizen.”
A quintessential support player, Cousins played just 12 games this spring’s playoffs. He was a scratch several times, but his role as a riot-movers proved useful.
“Just being in the locker room, I’ve been in situations and games where the pressure was high. That’s what we’ll experience in March and April when we play in an atmosphere similar to the playoffs,” he projected.
Several changes
With their excellent forward group, many expected the Senators to get close to the playoffs. Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Drake Batherson, Claude Giroux and company, however, could do no better than second-to-last in the Atlantic Division.
Since then, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jakob Chychrun and Joonas Korpisalo have been replaced by David Perron, Nick Jensen and Linus Ullmark. Travis Green has been named head coach and will have the difficult task of leading Ottawa to the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
“They’re a good, young team. They probably underperformed and didn’t live up to expectations last year,” Cousins said.
“All their young players are a year older and with Travis Green coming in, and I had time to talk to him before we signed, this group is super hungry and excited to get the season going,” he said.
In 2023-24, Cousins had 15 points in 69 games. He also suited up for the Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights and Nashville Predators during his career.
