Sens sign Nick Cousins to 1-year deal
The recent Cup winner signs for $800k
The Ottawa Senators have added some veteran presence to their bottom six, signing Nick Cousins to a 1-year deal worth $800k. Cousins was a part of the Florida Panthers roster that just won the Stanley Cup. Last season, he had 7 goals and 8 assists (15 points) in 69 games, playing 12:11 per night, with 64 PIMs and a 53.1% faceoff percentage. Overall, in his career with the Flyers, Coyotes, Canadiens, Knights, Predators, and Panthers, he has 71 goals and 109 assists (180 points) in 592 games.
Per HockeyViz, his results last year were fine but unremarkable:
It's worth noting that Florida without Cousins was +7% on offence and –16% on defence, so his offensive results were average for his team and his defensive results were significantly worse. He also didn't have any notable PK time, so his role was more as a play-driving fourth-liner than as a defensively responsible fourth-liner.
Cousins joins a battle for a fourth-line spot with Zack MacEwen, Noah Gregor, Angus Crookshank, Zack Ostapchuk, Jan Jenik, Xavier Bougault, Adam Gaudette, Matthew Highmore, and possibly even Stephen Halliday and Cole Reinhardt. It will be interesting to see how things shake down, and if Cousins' significant NHL experience and Cup ring give him a leg up over the rest of that group.
