NHL free agency has mostly wrapped up but one effective but controversial forward from the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers remains available on the market. The Florida Panthers went on a fantastic run and won the Stanley Cup this summer. As a result, you would assume all of the players from their team would be highly valued if they hit free agency. However, that has not been the case for Panthers forward Nick Cousins who remains a free agent. <q>Notable Players: - James van Riemsdyk - Mike Hoffman - Tanner Pearson - Nick Cousins - Dominik Kubalik - Jakub Vrána</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/OneTrueZach/status/1810840628239937855'> </a></blockquote></div> With Nick Cousins still left on the free agent market fans have gone digging to see why teams might be hesitant to sign the veteran forward. One incident seems to potentially be keeping some teams from signing Nick Cousins. <h3>Harsh words from former NHLer potentially stalling Nick Cousins career</h3> During last season Nick Cousins was a depth player on the Florida Panthers. However, for NHL analyst and former defenseman Kevin Bieksa he was the source of fury after multiple questionable hits. <q>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], said Bieksa back in January. I have never done this before but I have to do it, because this is a trend with this player.</q> He then went on to further insult Nick Cousins as a player who is dirty but does not face the music when the other team sticks up to him. <q>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, said Bieksa with disgust. 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 em and that's a rat to me, said Bieksa. I'm sorry it is.</q> It is currently unclear how much if any impact Kevin Bieksa's opinion actually has on this situation. However, anyone who watched these games can see why Kevin Bieksa is upset, and could be grounds for NHL teams to stay away from Nick Cousins. Source: Hockey Feed <a href='https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/the-most-hated-man-in-the-nhl-is-still-unsigned?fbclid=IwY2xjawESTqBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHV3Ia1urqJCVJkJ8XKSz3Oszaxjzsyez8-J6nJaXMMRhCWsscyeyVCxQyg_aem_mFhiejPjOxq2UQwSsoKxfg' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>The most hated man in the NHL is still unsigned.</a>