Nick Cousins got in just under the wire.
This late into NHL free agency, a lot of remaining UFAs start to scout around for European opportunities or professional tryouts. But Cousins stuck to his NHL guns – and maybe lowered his expectations – signing a one-year, one-way deal with the Ottawa Senators.
According to Bruce Garrioch at Postmedia, the 31-year-old veteran has known from day one of free agency that the Senators were interested in him but was looking for a better deal.
Fortunately for Cousins, after he tried to play the field all summer, the girl he turned down was still interested. And unlike last year around this time, the Sens still had some cap room to make something happen.
It also didn’t hurt that Cousins had two members of the Sens’ leadership group in his corner all summer, lobbying for him to come north to Ottawa this season.
“Yeah, I’ve been talking with Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux probably since free agency started,” Cousins said on TSN 1200 radio on Friday. “So they’ve been pulling for me to play here and I’ve talked to them numerous times over the last day or so.
“I know ‘G’ from my time in Philly and then I actually got to know Brady pretty well here over the last two years. He was down for the parade and stuff in Florida. And Matthew obviously has great things to say about Brady. (Tkachuk and Giroux) have been really welcoming and I’m excited to meet everyone else here as we move forward.”
Cousins may be one of the game’s great agitators and a past division rival, but said he has no concerns about any bad blood that may be lingering as he heads for Ottawa. He brought up David Perron and Artem Zub now being teammates after Perron infamously cross-checked Zub in the face last season.
“I think honestly, once camp starts, everybody kind of puts (old) feelings aside. We’re on the same team now, so we kind of move past it. I think once guys get to know me, it’ll be fine and everything will be pushed aside.
“That’s what excites me the most is to meet my new teammates and kind of get a feel for what their personalities are like and get for some dinners on the road, maybe play some golf, and kind of get to know each other on a personal level. And I think the best teams that are close off the ice, it translates on the ice.
“So I’m looking forward to getting there and meeting everyone.”
With Cousins’ arrival, Ottawa’s forward group is almost set for this season. There will be shuffling and experimenting, but barring injuries, you can lock down these 11 forwards for the opening night lineup.
Tkachuk Stutzle Giroux
Perron Norris Batherson
Greig Pinto Amadio
Gregor Cousins
This should allow the Senators to make earlier cuts, and spend more time in camp getting used to their new linemates, new systems, and new coaching staff.
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