Kevin Bieksa Doesn't Hold Back As He Calls Out The Dirtiest NHL Player By Name

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Hunter Bowman
January 7, 2024 (11:41)

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Kevin Bieksa didn't mince words when addressing Nick Cousins, the Florida Panthers forward known for repeated dirty plays, during Hockey Night in Canada.

Former NHLer Kevin Bieksa Publicly Calls Out Dirty Play by Florida Panthers' Nick Cousins

On the recent Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Bieksa expressed his frustration with Cousins' pattern of cheap plays, emphasizing incidents like kneeing, hitting a player's head into the boards, and ramming from behind. Bieksa highlighted Cousins consistently ending up at the bottom of the pile in a turtle position, calling it a troubling trend.

Bieksa suggested a need for intervention:

"What people don't wanna watch and see is kneeing, hitting a guys head into the boards, ramming a guy from behind and that is a common theme for [Nick Cousins]. I have never done this before but I have to do it, because this is a trend with this player. There's no place in the game for this and what is the common theme in all of these? Him at the bottom of the pile in a turtle position. This has been a common theme with this player... somebody in that organization or somebody that he respects has to sit down and say 'Enough of this' or the NHL has to come down and hammer this guy. Somebody has to hammer this guy from the department of justice and put an end to these crappy hits because I hate them and that's a rat to me. I'm sorry it is."

Cousins holds one of the worst reputations in the NHL, and Bieksa's message was prompted by Cousins' recent hit on Coyotes defenseman Juuso Valimaki. In response, Valimaki's teammate, Jason Zucker, boarded Cousins, resulting in a three-game suspension for Zucker while Cousins faced no repercussions.

To address Cousins' behavior, Bieksa proposed two solutions: have someone Cousins respects, such as a veteran teammate, coach, or Panthers GM, talk to him, or impose a lengthy suspension, similar to Raffi Torres case for headhunting.

As Cousins continues his questionable plays, the hockey community waits to see if any action will be taken to curb his behavior and protect other players.

Source: Hockeypatrol