Nick Cousins is ever so slightly lighter in the pocket after NHL Player Safety slapped the sandpapery forward with a $2,083.33 fine (the price of approximately five Nintendo Switch 2s) for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Ottawa Senators have also been fined $25,000 as an organization.
Cousins was docked the “the maximum allowable under the CBA” – 0.26 percent of his $800k salary during the 2024-25 season — for shooting a puck at a goaltender during warmups. Like the wrong one. On the other team. When the goalie was not in goal.
Bleacher Report posted video of the incident. Ahead of Game 3 between the Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, Cousins sent a puck towards Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz, who was standing along the glass. The Leafs went on to win 3-2 in overtime, taking a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
The crossed-the-line moment comes years after Alex Ovechkin and Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury got in a tiff during warmups of Game 5 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final. The Capitals’ captain tapped the future Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender in the pads with his stick, causing an enraged MAF to chase him along the ice.
The fine, albeit tiny, is likely the NHL putting a line in the sand (or I guess ice) and telling players to leave each other alone during warmups or there will be consequences.
The fact that Cousins was the player fined is not surprising. He was voted to have the most punchable face by his peers in an NHL player poll by The Athletic in 2024.
Friday’s fine also isn’t the first time Cousins has faced supplemental discipline. He was fined $2,000 for embellishment with the Arizona Coyotes in 2018 and $2,688.17 for boarding Mike Green while with the Montreal Canadiens in 2020.
