Paul Bissonnette is one of the greatest personalities to organically come out of hockey. Known for his popular Twitter handle “Biznasty,” the former Penguin and Coyote made a brand for himself out of pure self-deprecation and taking advantage of the role he was given in the NHL. 

Known for his time down in the desert -- other than the time he once played on a line with Geno Malkin and Sidney Crosby, where he didn't touch the puck once (sorry Paul) -- Bissonnette suited up in 187 games with limited ice time as the Coyotes tough guy spanning from 2009-14, instantly making him a fan favourite when applying his hilarious and endearing social media presence.

He’s has playing down in the AHL for the last three seasons, and has finally hung up the skates for good, citing to two torn ACLs. After an unsuccessful and hilarious campaign on July 1st, in seeking a NHL contract, the 32-year-old has traded in a helmet and sticks for some new headgear: a headset with a microphone.

 

Biznasty will be the Arizona Coyotes new ambassador, and radio colour commentator on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM station for this upcoming season. On top of his radio gig, the native of Welland, Ontario, will be making television appearances as well; he’ll work alongside former NHLer Tyson Nash and their broadcast team on FOX Sports Arizona during all pre-and post-game shows.

"What I'm most excited about is I love chatting about hockey and breaking down the plays," Bissonnette said in an interview on NHL.com. "I think that's why I'll be a good color guy. I'm guessing some people might say 'Well, how does this guy know, he wasn't any good' or 'If he knows all this stuff about hockey why didn't he just do it on the ice?' But I found I learned a lot not only by sitting in the middle of the bench for most of the game and watching at ice level, but by constantly absorbing everything around me. Most of the guys can't do that because they're playing 20 minutes a game and have to worry about themselves. But me, I'd always pay attention and ask guys, 'Hey, why did you do that?' or 'What was the purpose of that play?' and they would usually answer me and explain it and I'd be like, 'Wow, that's pretty smart.'"

Biz will also be providing all sorts of digital content for the Coyotes social media team -- which has been nothing short of gold over the years -- and website by interviewing Coyotes players. You know he'll be bringing the heat when he gets to interview some of his former teammates.

Naturally, Biznasty is already making jokes about upcoming road trips, including working in Las Vegas. Anyone else notice that he’s working for a team that will be heading to Las Vegas more frequently than most of the other NHL franchises? Hmm.


The Coyotes also announced that they’ll be hosting a Star Wars-themed Biznasty bobblehead night on November 25.

 

(h/t to the Arizona Coyotes