Nick Cousins wants to help the Ottawa Senators make the next step

Published Aug 31, 2024  •  Last updated 2 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

File photo/ Jammed into the foyer of the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre, fans let out a deafening roar when Florida Panthers' Nick Cousins, 31, made a grand entrance and hoisted one of the most cherished trophies in organized professional sports in North America above his head. Photo by Derek Baldwin /POSTMEDIA

The waiting was the hardest part for Nick Cousins.

Thankfully, it all worked out in the end after the pesky centre signed a one-year, $800,000 U.S. deal with the Ottawa Senators Thursday with the opening of training camp set for Sept. 18 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

After winning a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the final series against the Edmonton Oilers on June 24, a week later the 31-year-old Cousins was thrust onto the free agent market on July 1.

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Since then, he’s gone through a whirlwind of emotions, he went from the highest-of-highs by winning the Cup to wondering where his next stop in the NHL might be while waiting to sign a new deal.

Now, that the Belleville native is preparing to join his new teammates with the Senators for informal skates in Kanata next week, Cousins couldn’t be more excited.

“It’s been a long couple of weeks here,” Cousins said in an interview with Postmedia Friday. “With the excitement of winning, and the last game being June 24, all the fun we had after winning, then being thrown right into free agency, the process dragged out maybe longer than I anticipated.

“But, at the end of the day, I’m in a good spot. I’m happy to go a team that wants me, they’re excited to have me and that was important for me.”

Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, has put his stamp on this roster during the off-season. It started with the hiring of head coach Travis Green in late-May and continued with a remake of the group on the ice.

Staios acquired top goalie Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins, signed veteran forwards David Perron and Mike Amadio as free agents plus the club acquired veteran blueliner Nick Jensen from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Jakob Chychrun.

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Missing the playoffs for a ninth straight year isn’t an option.

Signing Cousins is another move to show this club wants to make the next step with a core that’s led by captain Brady Tkachuk, but also includes Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto, Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot, Jake Sanderson, Josh Norris and veteran winger Claude Giroux.

Tkachuk and Giroux played an instrumental role in signing Cousins by reaching out to him regularly in the summer to make the Senators his destination of choice. The Toronto Maple Leafs also showed interest and the Panthers were trying to find a way to bring him back.

“It’s a great young team. They probably underachieved and didn’t meet expectations last year,” Cousins said. “I like the moves they made. The solidified their goaltending with Ullmark, they brought in Jensen on the right side and two Stanley Cup champions with Perron and Amadio, which is going to help their top nine forwards compete with anyone in the league.

“All their young guys are a year older and with Travis Green coming in, and I got a chance to talk to him before I signed, this group is super-hungry and is excited for the season to get going. A majority of the guys are going to be in town next week to get ready, which is a good sign.”

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Coming from a Cup champion, Cousins is hopeful his experience can play a role in helping this group achieve its goal of being a playoff contender.

“It was important for me to find the right fit and to come to a team where I know I can help out and have a role,” Cousins said. “With the two Cup runs I’ve been on in the last two years (in Florida) and playing in the final, I think I can help this young group of guys.

“Even just being in the room, I’ve been in some high pressure situations and high pressure games. That’s what we’re going to go through here when the season gets going here then into March and April when we’re playing in playoff-game like atmospheres. We’ll be going into tough buildings when the emotions are high, and just to be in the room and help these guys, knowing they already have tremendous leaders with Giroux, Brady and those guys.

“I really think I can help out in that area, plus with my play I can give them better depth. I can just try to help out wherever they need me.”

It’s been a short summer, but Cousins lived his dream by winning a Cup with the Panthers and sharing the coveted chalice with those closest to him when he had his day with Lord Stanley last month.

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“That’s everyone’s dream and to win that was surreal,” he said. “I had 16 hours with it so I made sure the day was filled with lots of family and friends that helped me get to where I am today.

“The best part of winning is just being able to share it with the people you’ve become close with throughout the long years of playing hockey. It was probably everything I dreamed of and more. Being able to celebrate in the room with the boys afterwards was probably one of my favourite parts.

“It was awesome, even just the raw emotion you saw, even from the coaches that you don’t normally see.”

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