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Last year was a breakout season for fan-favorite Bissonnette, at least as much as a six-point season can be considered a breakout. But in just 28 games, "Biznasty" reached a career high in points, beating his previous best of five points in 41 games. Bissonnette has always been a spark plug off the bench for the Yotes and it was nice to see him contribute offensively. But it came at the expense of hits, the very things he consistently delivered in the past. So even with the small increase in production, he's unlikely to carve out any bigger role than the one he already has going forward.
Bissonnette, a fan favorite on Twitter, isn't good for much other than sin bin minutes and even those are far and few between -- he only saw time in 31 games last year. While GM Don Maloney has expressed his interest in getting BizNasty more involved in the offense going forward, it's unlikely he'll carve out a big enough role to warrant much fantasy consideration.
While Bissonnette may have turned himself into a celebrity on Twitter, his hockey game lacks the same star quality. When he sees game action, the winger is a solid source of sin bin minutes (71 PIMs in 48 games in 2010-11) but his ice time is never guaranteed. Don't expect his role to change heading into 2011-12.
In 2009-10, Bissonnette made a name for himself on the ice as an enforcer for the Coyotes. In his 41 appearances, he took on all comers and recorded a 117 PIMs for his trouble. For the upcoming campaign in 2010-11, look for Bissonette to reprise his role and protect his teammates. Save for his penchant for racking up PIMs, he will not produce any other significant numbers.
Bissonnette has gone from a fast-track prospect to a suspect to a possible tough guy over the past few years. The defenseman and sometimes winger compiled 176 penalty minutes in 57 AHL games last season to go along with 16 points (9, 7). He also appeared in 15 contests with the Penguins, contributing 22 PIM and one assist. Bissonnette is an interesting spare part who brings passion and feistiness to the ice but little else. Pittsburgh has added tough guy Michael Rupp and still has Eric Godard, putting Bissonnette's deep down in the tough guy depth chart.
Bissonnette nearly made a nascient ascent to the Penguins in 2006 but was one of the team's final training camp cuts. Since then his career has fallen off. The 23-year-old defenseman spent the 2007-08 commuting between the ECHL and the AHL. He may have a fantasy future in the NHL with his penchant for taking penalty minutes -- he totaled 188 PIM with Wheeling and Wilkes-Barre. He'll need a break or three to make it to Pittsburgh in the next couple years.
