Six suspects were identified Tuesday in an assault on former NHL tough guy and current media personality Paul Bissonnette.
Bissonnette, 39, was briefly hospitalized after the Sunday attack at a steakhouse in Scottsdale, Ariz., and spoke about the altercation in a three-minute video on social media. He said he believed seven men attacked him.
Six people were arrested on the scene in the northeast Phoenix suburb. Danny Bradley, John Carroll, William Carroll, Henry Mesker, Edward Jennings and Sean Daley were booked Monday night, according to CBS affiliate KPHO.
Daley was charged with felony assault, while William Carroll was hit with two counts of misdemeanor assault, reported Fox affiliate KSAZ. The others were charged with a single count of misdemeanor assault. All six men were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Bissonnette said the group was “a bunch of drunk golfers” who became belligerent during a debate with Houston’s restaurant staff. Bissonnette said he frequented the place and decided to stick up for the manager after one man “put his hands on him.”
“I just grabbed the guy’s arm that was on [the manager], I said, ‘Sir, if you continue to harass and assault the staff, we’re gonna have problems,’” Bissonnette said. “Then they just started chucking [punches].”
The fight spilled out of the restaurant, into a parking lot and across near a neighboring CVS before it was stopped, according to Bissonnette.
Though he last played in the NHL in 2014, Bissonnette was known as a fighter and racked up 340 penalty minutes in 202 games. He now works as an NHL analyst for TNT, and co-hosts the Barstool Sports hockey podcast “Spittin’ Chiclets.”