More heat on Nick Cousins ever since Kevin Bieksa compared him to Raffi Torres

On Saturday night, former NHL defenseman and Sportsnet analyst Kevin Bieksa called out Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins on Hockey Night In Canada, comparing his reckless play to former teammate Raffi Torres. Cousins was not suspended for recent hits, notably on Arizona defenseman Juuso Valimaki up high in a game in which only Coyotes’ Jason Zucker was suspended for his actions towards Cousins.

“Somebody has to hammer (Cousins) from the (NHL Department of Player Safety) and put an end to these crappy hits because I hate them…(Cousins is) a rat to me, I’m sorry.”

It sounds like Bieka isn’t the only thinking that Cousins should pay for his actions as Adam Proteau of The Hockey News agrees with the former blue liner and believes Cousins is drawing attention because of some of his hits and that the NHL will be taking a closer look at his behaviour on the ice.

“The NHL Department of Player Safety should have him on their radar, and the next time he tries to pull off a dangerous hit, it should result in a suspension. He can’t be permitted to careen into players who’ve established their space close to the boards. Other players have figured out how to defend without continually hurting members of the other team, and the league needs to stop pretending Cousins bears no responsibility for his movements on the ice.”

Proteau however does not think Cousins deserves to be compared to Torres, who, in the postseason of 2013, fired an illegal check to the head of Anaheim Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg. The hit resulted in a 41-game suspension for Torres, who never played an NHL game after that incident. But Proteau is adamant a message must be sent to the Panthers’ forward to stop endangering other players by giving him a stronger punishment next time he steps out of line.

Do you believe the NHL should get a close eye on Cousins and give him a tough suspension to send him a message?

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