Montour and Cousins are the Panthers' top comedy duo, according to their head coach

It’s no secret that the Florida Panthers are one of the most tight-knit teams in the NHL.

Panthers General Manager Bill Zito has done an excellent job building a group that has just as much talent on the ice as they do character and camaraderie off the ice.

That’s why nobody was surprised to see Florida defenseman Brandon Montour show up at Thursday’s postgame press conference with a special, custom shirt celebrating one of his teammates.

“Just paying my respects to a good friend of mine,” said Montour, proudly displaying a shirt featuring several photos of Panthers forward Nick Cousins.

“I think the media and everyone has given him a little bit of heat this year. All fun with it. It’s just a funny thing we do in the locker room. Paying my respects to a good player and a good guy.”

Cousins has received a bit of unfavorable attention over the past year or so as some of his NHL colleagues have taken exception to some of the hits and physical plays he’s made.

Earlier this season, an anonymous NHL player poll voted Cousins and the most punchable player, and he was recently listed in The Hockey News’ Five Villains Opposing Fans Love to Loathe.

Seeing a Panthers player go to bat for one of their teammates is nothing out of the ordinary, but there is something special that has grown between the two Ontario natives.

For those of us who get to see the Panthers off the ice, learning that Cousins and Montour are the team’s premier comedy duo is an almost expected development.

So much so that the pair has caught the eye, and the ear, of more than just their teammates.

“Overtly, I’d say Brandon Montour has a pretty good sense of humor…and it’s not necessarily the butt of his jokes, but the cause of most of his humor is Nick Cousins,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said in a recent interview with The Hockey Show. “I’m not sure which one is Laurel or Hardy, but I don’t think either one of them could necessarily be as funny as they are without each other. They’re critical pieces to the humor.”

Now we’ll just have to wait and see if Montour’s custom Cousins shirt start showing up on other players, or fans, during Florida’s playoff run.

The Panthers are in action next on Saturday, when they play Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning from Amalie Arena.

Florida leads their best-of-7 series against Tampa 3-0. 

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