Paul Bissonnette answered some questions from the fans at The Players' Tribune,

I grew up loving grinders like Bob Probert and Darren McCarty. I’ve always wondered, when it comes to contract talks, how do you value yourself to come up with terms? I’d assume the metrics are different than a player like Steven Stamkos.

Probert was a 20-goal scorer, and he happened to be the most feared guy in an era when fights were happening every night, so I’m sure that helped him in contract negotiations.

But in general, there isn’t much negotiation when it comes to contracts for enforcers. It’s closer to, “Here’s what we have left to give you (which is probably the league minimum), take it or leave it.” If you say no, they know they can just go out and find another guy.

That being said, for the amount of ice time I got and what I contributed offensively, I think what I got paid was fair. If you go in a locker room a see the guys playing 20 minutes a night, it’s clear that what they’re doing is even more physically taxing than what we do.

Who is the toughest non-enforcer you’ve ever come across, or scrapped with?

I don’t think I was ever a good enough player for non-enforcer types to ever engage with me. I don’t recall a time when a guy said, “Let’s fuckin’ go!” and I was taken aback. I pretty much only fought guys like me. I’ll have to review my profile on HockeyFights.com and get back to you.

more