Paul Bissonnette built a reputation as one of hockey’s great talkers long after he stopped playing. During his actual NHL career, he says, that wasn’t really his game.
Asked in a Bleacher Report AMA to name the best chirp he ever delivered, Bissonnette started by lowering expectations.
“I was not a great chirper. It was more organic,” he said.
Paul Bissonnette’s best chirp
Then he landed on the one that still makes him smile, and it came at the expense of Sergei Gonchar – a two-time Olympic medalist, Stanley Cup winner and the highest-scoring Russian-born defenseman in NHL history.
“The most proud I was, I think it was Sergei Gonchar. He whiffed on a breakaway and as he went by I said, ‘Hey, maybe you’re a lefty,’ as I handed out my stick,” Bissonnette said.
The offer to lend a stick is the part that makes it work. Gonchar wasn’t some fourth-line grinder having a rough shift. He was a genuine offensive weapon known for a devastating wrist shot from the blue line, a player who finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting three separate times and anchored power plays for two decades.
READ MORE: Paul Bissonnette recalls the biggest trouble he got into
Bissonnette, whose NHL career was built on fighting rather than scoring, seems fully aware of the gap.
“He was an elite player so he probably was like, ‘Who the hell is this guy,'” Bissonnette said.
Gonchar retired in 2015 after 1,301 NHL games with Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Dallas and Montreal, winning the Cup with the Penguins in 2009. He has since worked as a development coach with both Pittsburgh and Vancouver. Paul Bissonnette has since his playing days been the co-host of the very popular podcast Spittin’ Chiclets, as well as working as an analyst for TNT.
Read more:
