Popular hockey podcaster, broadcaster and former NHL player Paul Bissonnette was taken to a hospital Sunday after getting attacked by several men at a family restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz.
In a three-minute video posted to X, Bissonnette said the altercation took place inside and outside of Houston’s restaurant after he observed a group of guests cause issues with the restaurant manager. The 39-year-old Bissonnette said he is a regular diner at the establishment and attempted to intervene after a member of the group laid his hands on the manager.
“You could tell he was a little shocked and surprised and stunned,” said Bissonnette. “It’s a family restaurant. I don’t think there was anybody in there who could go maybe like help him out. I went over, I just grabbed the guy’s arm that was on him. I said, ‘Sir, if you continue to harass and assault the staff, we’re going to have problems.’
“And then they just started chucking, so it escalated extremely quickly.”
Bissonnette said he fought with seven people in total. All six of the men were charged with disorderly conduct and five were also charged with assault, according to the Scottsdale Police Department. Police confirmed Bissonnette’s account in a statement to The Athletic, describing an altercation that “escalated to the men assaulting Paul Bissonnette both inside and outside of the restaurant.”
That group knocked the former NHL tough guy to the ground on a couple of occasions, according to Bissonnette, but he didn’t lose consciousness. He thanked police and hospital staff for their quick response and care.
“All is good, guys,” said Bissonnette. “It sucks. I got (kicked) in the face a couple times, but it could have been a lot worse.”
Bissonnette is part of the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast and detailed his experience on an episode scheduled to be released Tuesday. He’s also a panelist on TNT’s national television coverage and indicated that he would be in the studio for Wednesday’s doubleheader.
The veteran of 202 career NHL games with Pittsburgh and Phoenix was clearly shaken by the altercation with a group of men he believed had been golfing earlier in the day.
“Just bad dudes,” said Bissonnette. “Way too drunk, and I don’t know what else they had in their system. Yeah, I’m very, very angry at these guys and kind of want their names out there and want them to pay the piper. Just unacceptable behavior at a family restaurant just because they couldn’t grab another cocktail and didn’t want to hear ‘No’ for an answer.”
Police have not identified those arrested.
As scary as the situation was, Bissonnette felt he held his own in an outnumbered situation.
“Took some,” he said. “Gave more.”
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(Photo: Cliff Hawkins / Getty Images for The Match)
