Former NHL defenseman Paul Bissonnette has long discussed the serious injuries he sustained throughout his NHL career, which includes playing through a torn ACL in the final year of his career. But on Tuesday, he explained how he has been battling through the worst pain in his life as an NHL on TNT analyst throughout this postseason.
On Tuesday’s edition of the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast alongside co-hosts Ryan Whitney and Keith Yandle, Bissonnette discussed how a flare-up of gout has been troubling him throughout the NHL Playoffs and continues to do so as the NHL on TNT crew prepares to start coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday night.
“Before we hop into everything, I just want to let you guys know I’ll be playing through something in the finals. Not everybody is going in healthy. For the first time in my life, once I hit 40, I’ve gotten gout.”
There are a number of factors that can go into someone ending up with gout, including genetics and underlying health conditions. But Bissonnette believes that his rather unusual diet while on the NHL on TNT set is ultimately what he believes led to getting gout.
“Usually, when we are doing the panel, I usually do a couple of steaks every night,” said Bissonnette.
“A couple?” asked Ryan Whitney.
“I do an eight-ounce at the start of the night,” added Bissonnette. “And then I do a 12 ounce, like, towards the end of the night. We’re there for seven hours, right? We’re there for usually two games. When we do the one gamer’s, I’m only doing one steak.”
For the first time in his life, @BizNasty2point0 has Gout
It might be due to the “couple a steaks” he has every night @spittinchiclets pic.twitter.com/TtBycSy60e
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 3, 2025
When you look at Bissonnette, you certainly wouldn’t expect him to be dealing with too many health issues. But interestingly, Liam McHugh, Bissonnette’s colleague and the host of the NHL on TNT studio team, seemed to have seen gout coming for Bissonnette after seeing his diet on-set throughout the playoffs.
“It’s funny, Liam McHugh would see me doing this,” said Bissonnette. “And about halfway through the playoffs he goes, ‘Have you ever gotten gout Biz?’ And I’m like, no, what is that? Kind of like, what do you mean? The rich man’s disease?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, you are eating steak every night.’ I’m like, no, I usually just go grab a salad and I do little to no meat. Maybe do a little bit of chicken or just keep it full veggie in the afternoon. And then I just wait until the night to get my protein fix. I typically don’t eat carbs because we’ve got two games. I’m not trying to crash.”
Bissonnette’s pain is actually so bad that he first believed that he had a stress fracture in his foot, saying that he has “never been in so much pain.”
“I thought maybe I had a stress fracture in my foot,” added Bissonnette. “I’ve never been in so much pain in my life. I couldn’t even walk on it. So I called the doctor. I sent him pictures and he goes, ‘Have you ever had gout before?’ I’m like, ‘Nah.’ And he goes, ‘Well, I think you have gout.’ So he called me in some medication. So I’ll be battling through that the next couple of days to be ready to go for the Stanley Cup Finals. I’ll probably be in a walking boot going up to the panel in Edmonton. But shoutout to Liam McHugh for giving me the heads up and being like, ‘Hey buddy, I think you should back off some of the red meat.’
Clearly, Bissonnette will have to make some changes to what he eats at the NHL on TNT desk moving forward. But it’s at least encouraging that he sounds ready to work through his bout with gout as the Stanley Cup Finals begin on Tuesday.
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