July 3: Joseph’s deal with the Blues is now official.
July 2: The St. Louis Blues are expected to sign defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph to a one-year contract, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports (Twitter link). The deal was confirmed by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who shared that it is a one-year deal with a $950K cap hit (Twitter link).
This reported signing comes on the same day that St. Louis traded for Mathieu Joseph, Pierre-Olivier’s brother. The siblings will reunite in St. Louis, after not playing together since the 2012-13 season, well before either of their QMJHL careers.
Pierre-Olivier Joseph fought his way into first-round precedent through his juniors career, getting selected 23rd-overall in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Arizona Coyotes. Arizona traded Joseph’s rights before the end of his juniors career, dealing him to the Pittsburgh Penguins alongside Alex Galchenyuk, in return for Phil Kessel, Dane Birks, and a fourth-round pick.
Joseph turned pro just a few months later, recording 17 points in 52 games with the 2019-20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The low-scoring rookie year has stood out as an oddity for Joseph, who earned a call-up to the NHL with 13 points in 23 AHL games the following year. He recorded five points through 20 NHL games in 2020 and 2021, though he wouldn’t establish a full time role until the 2022-23 season.
Finally playing through his NHL rookie season, Joseph managed five goals and 21 points in 75 games, becoming a solid member of Pittsburgh’s blue-line. That role slipped a bit this year, though, after a lower-body injury forced Joseph to miss a month of action in November/December. His spot on the team’s bottom pairing didn’t seem as secure upon his return, likely not helped along by Joseph’s 11 points in 52 games.
Joseph, who turned 25 on Monday, will now pursue a more concrete role on a St. Louis blue-line no longer featuring Marco Scandella. That should slot Joseph in behind Torey Krug and Scott Perunovich on the Blues’ depth chart, though he might face heavy competition for minutes from veteran Nick Leddy. Joseph’s ability to earn a strong role despite that competition will like be what the Blues look for, as they plan for him to become a restricted free agent next summer.
Blues didn’t trade a 3rd rounder for Mathieu. They got Ottawa’s third rounder.
Fixed, thanks!
I like this as a transition year. If we can get leddy and krugs value up for trade, while also maybe getting a high pick because of where we end up in the standings, the blues could come out of this re(tool or build) looking pretty good. If I was the blues I’d take the chicago model and buy some draft picks with taking on some other teams bad contracts( last year of deals) come trade deadline.
They gave up too much to get rid of Hayes. A second rounder is a lot for 3+ million in salary for a player who will score.
That’s actually comparable to similar salary dump deals like Walman and Mikheyev.
Leddy is the #1 LHD so Joseph won’t be competing for his minutes. He will compete with Perunivich for 3rd d pairing mins. I wish him well.