Nick Cousins

Lore & Background

Cousins was traded to the Arizona Coyotes on June 16, 2017, alongside goaltender Merrick Madsen, in exchange for forward Brendan Warren and a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NHL entry draft. At the time of the trade, Cousins was a restricted free agent and was not under contract with the Coyotes during the 2017 NHL expansion draft, making him ineligible to be exposed or selected. He signed a two-year contract with Arizona on July 1, 2017. Cousins made his Coyotes debut on October 7 against the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. He registered his first point with the team on October 21, assisting on Christian Fischer's first-period goal in a 4–2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. His first goal for Arizona came in the next game on October 24, against Jaroslav Halák in a 5–3 loss to the New York Islanders. During the 2017–18 season, Cousins was fined $2,000 for embellishment by the NHL on March 9, 2018, after having been warned twice during the season. In his first season with the Coyotes, he played 71 games, scoring 12 goals and 19 points. In the 2018–19 season, Cousins recorded a career-high 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists) in 81 games, establishing a bottom-six role with an agitating two-way presence. On June 25, 2019, as an impending restricted free agent, the Coyotes did not tender him a qualifying offer, releasing him as an unrestricted free agent.

Reader's Guide

Nick Cousins' tenure with the Arizona Coyotes spanned two seasons from 2017 to 2019, during which he played 152 games and recorded 46 points. He was acquired via trade from the Philadelphia Flyers and signed a two-year contract. Cousins carved out a role as a bottom-six forward known for his agitating, two-way style of play. His first season with the Coyotes saw him post 12 goals and 19 points in 71 games, while his second season produced a career-high 27 points in 81 games. The Coyotes chose not to extend a qualifying offer to Cousins at the end of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. He subsequently signed with the Montreal Canadiens. Cousins' time in Arizona was part of a broader NHL career that included stops with several other teams and a Stanley Cup victory with the Florida Panthers in 2024.

Did You Know?

• Cousins was traded to the Coyotes alongside goaltender Merrick Madsen for Brendan Warren and a fifth-round pick.
• He was fined $2,000 for embellishment during the 2017–18 season after two prior warnings.
• Cousins recorded a career-high 27 points in the 2018–19 season with Arizona.
• The Coyotes did not tender him a qualifying offer in June 2019, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Amateur Foundation and the Road to the NHL

Brian Nicholas Cousins, born July 20, 1993, spent four seasons sharpening his game with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League from 2009 to 2013. His development was steady and quantifiable: in his final campaign he produced 27 goals, 76 assists, and 103 points across 64 games. That same season he was actually leading the entire OHL in scoring before a four-game suspension halted his momentum following an illegal check from behind against the London Knights in February 2013. Across his full junior career, Cousins tallied 102 goals, 189 assists, and 291 points in 264 games while drawing 261 penalty minutes—a clear signal of his comfort playing a physical, two-way style even at the junior level. His year-over-year progress caught the eye of NHL scouts, and in the 2011 entry draft the Philadelphia Flyers selected him in the third round, 68th overall, setting him on the path to professional hockey.

Philadelphia and the Long Climb to the Big League

Cousins inked a three-year entry-level contract with Philadelphia in March 2012, and his professional growth unfolded primarily in the AHL. After a brief seven-game appearance with the Adirondack Phantoms in 2013, he spent the entire 2013-14 season there, posting 11 goals and 29 points in 74 games. The following year he scored in the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' franchise-opening game and finished with 22 goals and 56 points in 64 games. His NHL debut arrived on March 17, 2015, in a 4-1 loss to Vancouver, though he went scoreless in his first 11 appearances. The 2015-16 season brought real progress: recalled in February to cover for an injured Sean Couturier, he recorded his first NHL point on February 7 and scored his first NHL goal on February 11 against Robin Lehner, adding an assist on Michael Raffl's marker that same night. He finished with 6 goals and 11 points in 36 NHL games and made his playoff debut against Washington, playing all six first-round games despite going blank. He accepted his qualifying offer and played a full 60-game season in 2016-17, contributing 6 goals and 16 points.

Arizona and Montreal: Carving Out a Two-Way Identity

In June 2017, Cousins was dealt to the Arizona Coyotes alongside goaltender Merrick Madsen in exchange for Brendan Warren and a fifth-round pick. He signed a two-year deal and immediately settled into a bottom-six, two-way role. His first Arizona season yielded 12 goals and 19 points in 71 games, but the 2018-19 campaign marked his professional peak: a career-high 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists) in 81 games cemented his identity as an agitating, hard-working centre. When Arizona declined to tender him a qualifying offer in June 2019, he became a free agent and quickly landed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens. His October 17, 2019 debut was productive—he assisted on Victor Mete's goal in a 4-0 shutout over Minnesota—and he scored his first Canadien goal against Aaron Dell a week later. Over 58 games he contributed 9 goals and 13 assists, though a boarding penalty on Mike Green in January 2020 cost him a fine of $2,688.17.

Vegas, Nashville, and the Stanley Cup

Montreal traded Cousins to the Vegas Golden Knights in late February 2020 for a 2021 fourth-round pick. In his debut on February 26, he scored against Mikko Koskinen, becoming the sixth Golden Knight that season to find the net in his first game with the franchise. Just two weeks later the NHL shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic, and Cousins returned to Canada, staying connected with teammates through daily FaceTime calls. When the playoffs resumed, he played in 17 games, recording five assists as Vegas advanced to the Western Conference finals before falling to Dallas. After leaving Vegas as a free agent, he signed a two-year, $3 million deal with the Nashville Predators in October 2020. His journey continued through a stint with the Florida Panthers, and in 2024 Cousins reached the pinnacle of professional hockey: winning the Stanley Cup with Florida. A journeyman who cycled through Philadelphia, Arizona, Montreal, Vegas, and Nashville before eventually landing with Ottawa, his path to the championship was anything but straightforward.

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