In his rough-and-tumble NHL playing career, Paul Bissonnette was never afraid to drop the gloves should a situation call for coming to the defence of a teammate.
Now, as an increasingly popular hockey commentator and podcaster BizNasty, as he is known by his legion of followers, still approaches life with an edge.
And when that natural instinct to defend those being harassed led to a wild line brawl on the weekend in Scottsdale, Ariz., Bissonnette ended up in a local hospital.
“Took some, gave some,” Bissonnette said in a post on ‘X’ to explain the situation at a restaurant in Scottsdale.
The TNT hockey analyst, who has also had some appearances on Sportsnet’s Hockey Night In Canada of late, was reportedly assaulted by a group at a steakhouse in Scottsdale that Bissonnette regularly frequents.
According to the Associated Press, six men were arrested by Scottsdale police after the former player leapt to the defence of staff, who he said were being physically and verbally abused. But Bissonnette vowed it won’t end there.
On the latest edition of his popular podcast, Spittin’ Chiclets, which he co-hosts with fellow ex-NHLer Ray Whitney, the 31-year-old Welland, Ont., native went into great detail of the incident and his anger.
“Maybe I bit off a little more than I can chew, but I wouldn’t change anything,” Bissonnette said of leaping to the defence of staff members who he felt were being harassed. “The whole ordeal probably lasted three or four minutes. I was pretty gassed.
“I’ll get their names and this is going to be a thing. I’m going to do what I can to ruin these guys lives.”
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The incident started when Bissonnette and others in the packed restaurant were distracted by a noisy incident in the bar area of the restaurant. In Bissonnette’s words, things began to escalate causing the former Phoenix Coyotes tough guy to intervene.
From there, the restaurant equivalent of a bench-clearing brawl ensued, albeit a one-sided affair.
“The antagonist starts putting his finger in the manager’s face and backing him up,” Bissonnette explained on Spittin’ Chiclets. “Everybody’s watching. This is a commotion with nine golfers drunker than maggots and creating a scene and obviously don’t like being told ‘no.’
“I get up and go over and walk over and grab the guy’s arm and say ‘listen buddy if you keep assaulting and harassing the staff here we’re going to go outside and have some problems.’ The minute that left my mouth the guy beside him starts throwing punches and the next thing you know four guys are throwing punches at me.”
Eventually, the ruckus spilled over into the restaurant’s parking lot where Bissonnette said he was taken to the ground and kicked by his assailants before escaping into a nearby CVS store. Police were called to the scene, leading to the arrests.
In parts of six NHL seasons in which he played 202 games and amassed 340 penalty minutes, Bissonnette was never shy of engaging in the rough stuff. He also was never shy to brawl in a colourful minor-league career.
Sunday’s incident brought back memories of some of those nights.
“I used to to this every Friday and Saturday night and then drive to the next city,” said Bissonnette, who was selected 121st overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 NHL draft. “I’m just more shaken up than anything. It’s more about getting my vengeance now.
“The whole ordeal probably lasted t here or four minutes. I was pretty gassed.”
In his post-hockey career, Bissonnette hasn’t been shy at chucking the verbal punches, either and has a huge following both on social media and through Spittin’ Chiclets, part of the wildly popular and provocative Barstool brand.