Nick Cousins gives the Montreal Canadiens another weapon in the slot
By Omar L
The Montreal Canadiens added to their depth with Nick Cousin who could be a good option to have on the fourth line giving his style and scoring locations.
It’s been lower scale additions for the Montreal Canadiens this summer. Keith Kinkaid gives Carey Price a reliable backup throughout the season, Ben Chiarot shores up the left side and leaves the window open for Victor Mete to take the top spot (unless something else takes place), and now the Habs have made a move to boost the bottom six with Nick Cousins.
The deal itself is extremely cheap with little commitment. If Cousins doesn’t crack the lineup (which is highly doubtful), the Montreal Canadiens could place him on waivers, and a good portion of it would be buried in the minors if he clears. Cousins, however, is one of many options the Habs have to stick on the fourth line.
The 25-year-old has experience putting up numbers in the AHL, but not so much in the NHL. His best offensive year was back in the 2014-15 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms putting up 22 goals and 34 assists for 56 points in 64 games. His NHL scoring is lacking though.
Take that same season with the Phantoms for example. Cousins played 11 games with the Philadelphia Flyers and had 0 points in a depth role. He bumped it up to 10 points the year after including six goals and again to 16 in 60 games.
These last two seasons with the Arizona Coyotes have been his best, and he’s coming off a career year putting up seven goals and 20 assists. Cousins’ goal total from the year before fell as he had 12, but he racked up a lot more assists. Most of his helpers came off of Alex Galchenyuk goals (the irony) while the rest were spread amongst others at 5v5.