Paul Bissonnette is never afraid to speak his mind, and last night was no exception. After a hit on Connor McDavid during last night’s matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and the New Jersey Devils. Bissonnette strongly criticized one NHL rule.
Paul Bissonnette played 202 NHL games, representing the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes. He tallied 22 points and racked up 340 penalty minutes. However, it’s as a TV personality and podcaster that Bissonnette has truly made a name for himself. He regularly appears on NHL on TNT and hosts the popular podcast Spittin’ Chiclets.
READ MORE: Leon Draisaitl’s hilarious response to his 1,000th point
Big hit on Connor McDavid
He has become widely known for his sense of humour, sharp wit, and his willingness to speak his mind. Last night, when the Oilers hosted the Devils, he once again did just that. His comments came in reaction to a sequence in the first period in which Devils defenseman Johnny Kovacevic laid a hit on Connor McDavid. The hit sent the Oilers star to the ice.
Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin then dropped the gloves with Kovacevic. Kovacevic received a five-minute penalty for fighting. Podkolzin was assessed five minutes for fighting, a ten-minute misconduct, and a two-minute instigator penalty.
Paul Bissonnette slams NHL rule
In the NHL on TNT studio, Bissonnette shared his thoughts on the instigator rule—and he did not mince his words.
“I’m not a big fan of the instigator rule. They obviously implemented it for situations where a clean hit is delivered and a guy goes over to defend his teammate. But in this situation, the fact that Kovacevic’s hands come up so high. If you’re Podkolzin and you see that in real time, how quickly it happens—you’re thinking, ‘97 just got hit. I’m going to throw some fists and ask questions later.’
And we call this shimmy-shaking, when you give the guy the shimmy-shake, like, ‘Hey, you want to go?’ He asked him. And then Kovacevic hit the eject button too. So in that situation, it’s two guys willing to combat, and I don’t agree with the instigator being called there,” Bissonnette said on the broadcast.
You can watch the video below.
READ MORE: Seth Jarvis destroys Paul Bissonnette with sharp chirp
