Former Arizona Coyotes' centerman Nick Cousins has played a crucial role for the Florida Panthers through their quest to the Stanley Cup Final
Former Arizona Coyotes centerman Nick Cousins is slated to play in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight for the Florida Panthers.
Cousins has added a spark to the Panthers lineup throughout his first season with the team. He plays an important role on a line with Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett.
In 18 playoff games for Florida this year, Cousins has two goals, four assists and six points. His best moment came in Game 5 of the second round against the Toronto Maple Leafs where Cousins scored the overtime winner sending the Panthers to their first Eastern Conference Final since 1996.
Many forget that Cousins even played for the Coyotes.
On June 16, 2017 Cousins was traded to the Coyotes from the Philadelphia Flyers. During the 2017-18 season, Cousins scored 12 goals for Arizona, the most he has had in a single season while also recording seven assists and 19 points. During the 2018-19 campaign, Cousins played 81 games for the Coyotes tallying nine goals, a career high 20 assists and 27 points.
Despite showing some potential during his two-year stint in the Valley, the Coyotes didn’t tender Cousins a qualifying offer in 2019 allowing him to walk in free agency where he eventually signed with the Montreal Canadiens.
“I felt pretty sure I was going to be qualified so I was having a stress-free summer and then, two or three days before the deadline for offers, I learned they weren’t going to qualify me and I was a little nervous to see how free agency would go,” Cousins said via the Montreal Gazette.
Cousins enjoyed his time with the Coyotes and made strong bonds with members of the organization despite only spending two seasons with the team.
“There are a lot of good people in this organization that I got to be close with and I still talk to today,” Cousins said in 2019 via the Montreal Gazette.
If the Panthers are going to overcome a 2-0 series deficit in the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights, they need players like Cousins to step up which he has become accustomed to doing.