Nick Cousins chirps the Florida Panthers, Ottawa matchup gets spicy

At morning skate in Ottawa, Nick Cousins didn't even wait for puck drop to start needling his old Florida Panthers teammates. The clip from Katie Engleson caught him chirping from behind the glass, and it sure looked like he was enjoying it.

That's classic Cousins, because his whole game lives in the annoying details. He hunts rebounds, bumps defenders, and talks just enough to make somebody answer him the wrong way.

Florida knows that act well, because Cousins was part of the group that delivered the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 2024. He's 32 now, and he still plays like the scoreboard is personal.

This season with Ottawa, he has six goals and 10 points, while living mostly in the bottom six. ESPN and PuckPedia line up on that production, and it fits exactly what Ottawa asks from him.

As a fan, I love this stuff, but I also hate it, because it's how dumb penalties get born.

If Cousins plays it right, he'll try to turn Florida's best players into whistle magnets. The Panthers have to stay calm on retrievals, keep their sticks down, and win the first three battles so the jawing doesn't matter.

The contract piece is simple, and it's why Ottawa can live with the chaos. Cousins is on a one-year deal worth $825,000, and he's an unrestricted free agent after the season.

If you want a quick reminder of his value, look at last year's line in Ottawa. Cousins had six goals and 15 points in 50 games, and both Sportsnet and PuckPedia back that up.

He was also a third-round pick, 68th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011, and he's still built for this exact kind of Atlantic Division nonsense.

Florida can win the game in the neutral zone with cleaner exits and fewer live turnovers, but the emotional battle matters too. If the Panthers keep it five-on-five, Cousins can chirp all he wants.

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