Since Paul Bissonnette joined the NHL on TNT cast in 2021, viewers have loved his longstanding relationship with Bruins captain Brad Marchand, which includes a lot of public chirping back and forth about various topics. And it seems like Turner higher-ups have caught onto this, using a hilarious old clip of the two jokingly going at it publicly as a promotional piece for the upcoming 2025 Winter Classic.
On Thursday, the X account B/R Open Ice, which is owned by Turner, posted a video from the pregame show of the 2023 Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins.
In the clip, Biz began to roast Marchand for the size of his nose, joking that he was surprised he didn’t use eye black on his nose “because of the glare” that comes off of it.
“Marchy, I’m surprised you didn’t put any eye black on that nose considering all the glare that’s coming off that thing buddy,” said Bissonnette.
“It’s a gift bud, I can sniff out anything wrong a mile away,” Marchand jokingly replied.
Bissonnette then took a shot at Marchand’s longtime teammate Patrick Bergeron for having a similarly big nose, which Marchand again had a hilarious response to.
“Between you and Bergeron there is going to be no oxygen left in the building,” added Bissonnette.
“That’s why we’re playing outside to make it fair for everyone,” replied Marchand.
“Come on down here, I’ll give you a gift” 🎁
Biz and Marchand are an unreal combo— you can’t beat a Winter Classic on @NHL_On_TNT 🤣 pic.twitter.com/J54t7m94Qb
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 26, 2024
This clip shows just how great the chemistry is, and has been, between Marchand and Bissonnette. Whatever the situation may be, even Bissonnette being on the receiving end of an assault, neither one gets too offended by the hard-hitting jokes that others would certainly take personally.
The 2025 Winter Classic, which TNT will air on New Year’s Eve, will not include Marchand and the Bruins. Instead, the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks will face off at Wrigley Field.
With this in mind, it could be confusing to some that this clip of Marchand and Bissonnette was shared to promote this year’s Winter Classic. But it does highlight Bissonnette’s infectious personality as a studio analyst, which maybe is most evident when he chats with Marchand.
Who knows, maybe down the road when Marchand’s playing days are done, we see him and Bissonnette as castmates on NHL on TNT. We’ve seen similar kinds of banter thrive on TNT before, like Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley on Inside the NBA.
With Inside the NBA moving to ESPN, maybe Turner will look to replicate that kind of connection with Bissonnette and Marchand on the NHL on TNT. Based on the level of interest their back-and-forths get, it likely wouldn’t be a bad move.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.