Former NHL player assaulted at Arizona restaurant

Former NHL player Paul Bissonnette was briefly hospitalized Sunday after an altercation with several men at a restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Bissonnette, who played for the Arizona Coyotes and Pittsburgh Penguins and is now an analyst for Turner Sports, posted his version of events on social media, saying he was inside Houston’s when he saw people arguing with the restaurant manager. 

“You could tell he was a little shocked and surprised and stunned,” Bissonnette said on X. “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.”

Seven people were involved in the fight, according to Bissonnette.

“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.”

According to Fox 10 Phoenix, six men were arrested, with five facing misdemeanor charges and one facing a felony charge.

“Just bad dudes,” said Bissonnette, who also co-hosts the “Spittin Chiclets” podcast for Barstool Sports. “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.”

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