The Penguins are bringing an old friend back to Pittsburgh.
P.O Joseph, who played parts of four seasons with the Penguins, is headed back to Pittsburgh for future considerations after signing with the St. Louis Blues during the free agency period last summer. Joseph played in 23 games with the Blues this season, registering two assists. The Blues recently acquired Cam Fowler, which made Joseph, also a left-handed defenseman, expendable.
A former first-round pick who came to Pittsburgh in the 2019 Phil Kessel trade with Arizona, Joseph never developed into an impactful player in Pittsburgh. He did play his finest hockey of the season down the stretch of the 2023-24 season, when he paired with Kris Letang.
Joseph, 25, will join the Penguins in Nashville.
What it means to the Penguins
The Penguins’ blue line has been playing better but it needs all the help it can get on the left side.
Marcus Pettersson, by far the Penguins’ best left-handed defenseman, is “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury that could sideline him into the new year. Matt Grzelcyk, signed this summer from Boston, has been underwhelming. Ryan Graves, in his second season of a six-year deal, has been an extreme disappointment. Thus, there certainly could be an opening for Joseph to play immediately in Pittsburgh.
Joseph played very well down the stretch last season, teaming with Letang to give the Penguins a legitimate top-four pairing. Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas and coach Mike Sullivan were pleased with Joseph’s performance during the Penguins’ late-season surge, leaving many surprised that the Penguins didn’t opt to bring him back before the free agency period hit.
He’s not a great player and may never live up to the billing of being a first-round pick, but the Penguins know what they’re getting in Joseph: an undersized defenseman who sometimes struggles in his own territory but who can skate and move the puck well, and a very popular person in the locker room during his time in Pittsburgh.
— Josh Yohe
What it means to the Blues
The storyline of the Blues having the Joseph Bros. on their roster was fun while it lasted, but it was just 33 games. The younger of the two, P.O, was brought in by the Blues as a depth defenseman and served his purpose well.
He played mostly in the third pair with and decent in his own zone and helped on the penalty kill. But with the recent trade for Cam Fowler, the Blues are fairly heavy on left-shot defensemen and they still hope for Nick Leddy (injured) to return at some point. This move will allow the Blues to have Scott Perunovich in the lineup when needed and perhaps recall Matthew Kessel, who was reassigned to AHL Springfield when Fowler was acquired.
There was a bit of a logjam and Joseph was the odd man out.
— Jeremy Rutherford
(Photo: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)
