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Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Defenseman From the St. Louis Blues

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Graham Montgomery
December 18, 2024  (8:38 PM)
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Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas was busy today as he acquired defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph from the St. Louis Blues.

If that name sounds familiar to Penguins fans it is for good reason.

Pierre-Olivier Joseph played 147 games for the Penguins between 2020 and 2024.

This summer, the 25-year-old signed a one-year deal with the St. Louis Blues worth just under a million dollars.

In a somewhat peculiar move, the Penguins announced the deal this evening, revealing that they acquired Pierre-Olivier Joseph from the Blues in exchange for future considerations.

"The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman P.O Joseph from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for future considerations, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.

Joseph is signed through the end of the 2024-25 season and his contract carries an average annual value of $950,000."

Basically, the Blues rented Joseph for 23 games and then sent him back to Pittsburgh for free.

One would think that if Dubas was interesting in keeping him around, he would have just signed him in free agency, but perhaps the player wanted a change of scenery.

If that was the case then this is certainly a tough break for him.

Perhaps Joseph was hoping to make the playoffs this year and that lead to his decision to leave the Penguins.

Coincidentally though, both teams have 33 points through 33 games.

Since the Penguins are in the weaker Metro Division, technically they appear to have a better shot at the moment, especially since the team has been playing their best hockey of the season.

The team has won seven of their last ten, moving up to 4th place in the division.

They are just one point back of the Ottawa Senators for the final playoff spot in the conference, so their hopes are very much alive at this point.

Could this be the last dance for Crosby and Malkin in the playoffs? If the current trends continue, that very well may be the case. We'll just have to wait and see.

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Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Defenseman From the St. Louis Blues

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