Pictures by Jerome Miron-Imagno
According to Fox 10 Phoenix, retired NHL left winger Paul Bissonnette was hospitalized in Scottsdale, Arizona after being assaulted Sunday night.
The Welland, Ont. native was allegedly attacked by six men at a restaurant called Houston’s in Scottsdale. The Scottsdale Police Department reportedly told Fox 10 that the situation began inside the restaurant. Bissonnette was trying to help restaurant staff in the altercation.
Police told Fox 10 the situation escalated from that point and Bissonnette was allegedly assaulted both inside and outside the building. As a result, a 39-year-old man was injured and taken to hospital. Although police have not released details of Bissonnette’s injuries, they believe his injuries are not life-threatening.
All six men involved in the attack were arrested for assault and disorderly conduct. The men have not been identified.
Bissonnette is currently a hockey media personality. He co-hosts on Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. He is also an analyst for NHL on TNT, which will be broadcast from October 2021. Bissonnette is also a fixture on social networks, namely X, where he wrote several posts on Monday night. (Warning: the following X post contains language that may not be suitable for all readers.)
The former striker played 202 games in the NHL, in which he accumulated a total of 340 penalty minutes. He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes. Bissonnette totaled 22 points in his six-season NHL career.
He spent most of his professional hockey career in the ECHL and AHL. His best season in terms of scoring was in 2006-07 with the ECHL’s Wheeling Wailers. In 2015, he won the Calder Cup as the AHL champion with the Manchester Monarchs.
Bissonnette played one season outside of North America during a partial lockout in 2012-13. He played 10 games for the Cardiff Devils in the Elite Ice Hockey League of the UK. He scored 19 points during this short tenure.