Nick Cousins
Brian Nicholas Cousins[1][2] (born July 20, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Cousins was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round (68th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
| Nick Cousins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Cousins with the Adirondack Phantoms in 2013 | |||
| Born |
July 20, 1993 Belleville, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Florida Panthers Philadelphia Flyers Arizona Coyotes Montreal Canadiens Vegas Golden Knights Nashville Predators | ||
| NHL Draft |
68th overall, 2011 Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| Playing career | 2012–present | ||
Playing career
Junior
Cousins played four seasons (2009–2013) of major junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League, scoring 102 goals and 189 assists for 291 points, while earning 261 penalty minutes in 264 games played. On March 26, 2012, Cousins was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.[3]
Philadelphia Flyers
During the 2014–15 season, on March 17, 2015, Cousins made his NHL debut in a game against the Vancouver Canucks.[4]
Arizona Coyotes
On June 16, 2017, Cousins' five-year tenure with the Flyers ended as he was traded alongside Merrick Madsen to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Brendan Warren and a fifth-round choice in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.[5]
In establishing a bottom-six role, providing an agitating two-way presence within the Coyotes organization, Cousins recorded a career-high 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists), in 81 games in the 2018–19 season. On June 25, 2019, as an impending restricted free agent, Cousins was not tendered a qualifying offer from the Coyotes, releasing him as a free agent.[6]
Montreal Canadiens
On July 5, 2019, Cousins signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens.[7] He skated in 58 games for the club, recording nine goals and 13 assists.
Vegas Golden Knights
On February 24, 2020, Montreal traded Cousins to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.[8] Only two weeks after the trade was finalized, the NHL season was suspended indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pause, Cousins returned to Canada and bonded with his teammates through daily FaceTime calls and other forms of long-distance communication.[9]
Nashville Predators
Leaving the Golden Knights as a free agent, on October 9, 2020, Cousins was signed to a two-year, $3 million contract with the Nashville Predators.[10]
Florida Panthers
Having concluded his contract with the Predators, Cousins joined his sixth NHL club, in signing as a free agent to a two-year, $2.2 million contract with the Florida Panthers on July 13, 2022. He scored the series-winning goal in overtime of game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 12, 2023. This goal sent the Panthers to their first Conference Final since 1996.[11]
Personal life
In 2012, while playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Cousins and two teammates were arrested and charged with sexual assault of an Ontario woman.[12] Cousins spent 12 hours in jail, followed by two weeks at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre before the charges were dropped by the prosecution.[13]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2009–10 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 67 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 68 | 29 | 39 | 68 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 65 | 35 | 53 | 88 | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Adirondack Phantoms | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 64 | 27 | 76 | 103 | 83 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 2012–13 | Adirondack Phantoms | AHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Adirondack Phantoms | AHL | 74 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 64 | 22 | 34 | 56 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 38 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 36 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 60 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 71 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 81 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 58 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 22 | ||
| 2020–21 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 52 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 41 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 68 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 79 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 38 | |||||||
| NHL totals | 523 | 64 | 100 | 164 | 248 | 30 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 26 | ||||
References
- Charron, Cam (2012-08-26). "Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players charged in sexual assault; team defers on whether they'll attend training camp". Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
- "Police charge three Greyhounds' players with sexual assault". The Sports Network. 2012-08-26. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
- "Nick Cousins agrees to entry-level contract with Flyers". broadstreethockey.com. 2012-03-26. Archived from the original on 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
- "Philadelphia Flyers at Vancouver Canucks". Philadelphia Flyers. 2015-03-17. Archived from the original on 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
- "Coyotes acquire Cousins and Madsen from Flyers". Arizona Coyotes. 2017-06-16. Archived from the original on 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
- "After Ben Hutton, who are the top players not to receive QO's". The Hockey News. June 26, 2019. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- "Habs sign F Cousins to one-year, $1M contract". The Sports Network. July 5, 2019. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
- "Nick Cousins traded to Vegas". National Hockey League. Montreal Canadiens. February 24, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- Emerson, Jusin (July 30, 2020). "How Golden Knights' midseason acquisitions bonded with rest of roster during shutdown". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- "Predators add Nick Cousins on 2-year deal". thescore.com. October 9, 2020. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- "Florida Panthers agree to terms with Nick Cousins". Florida Panthers. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- Carchidi, Sam (27 August 2012). "Flyers prospect Nick Cousins charged with sexual assault". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- Miller, Randy (27 May 2013). "Close call with law changes prospect's outlook". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database