NHL's most hated player comes out second best while going after Montreal's Arber Xhekaj

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Tom Banks
October 6, 2024 (1:53 PM)

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Nick Cousins has been voted as the NHL's most hated player, and now fans have enjoyed the moment he badly looked to take down Montreal's Arber Xhekaj.

For the past few seasons, Nick Cousins has shown he's arguably the dirtiest player in the entire NHL, with players, fans and coaches all seemingly hating to watch him on the ice. After winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers this past year, Cousins finally landed a deal with the Ottawa Senators as he looks to make his mark and find his way into another lineup heading into 2024/25.

That attempt at making an impact continued during their last pre-season game with the Montreal Canadiens, but unfortunately for him, this time it backfired in a big way, as he picked the wrong opponent. During the game, Cousins went after young defenseman Arber Xhekaj from behind, but unsurprisingly, it didn't go well, as Xhekaj braced for contact and it ended up with Cousins on the ice.

Cousins was fine after the play and continued the game, but this is another example of players around the league getting wise to Cousins tactics, and without the physicality to match other players like Xhekaj, he came out second best in this one. Now, the 31-year old will look to make an impact in the NHL without a superstar team around him in Florida, but given the lack of natural talent and skill that he's got on the ice, we will see if he can be effective as he has been in previous years.

Source: Hockey Feed
Nick Cousins tries to hit Xhekaj from behind, goes badly.