Dec 12th 2024
The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired P.O. Joseph from the St-Louis Blues in exchange for future considerations. Marcus Pettersson has been injured with a lower body injury and the pens needed someone to step in. Considering the pens current depth at D, they felt it would be best to trade for a player that is already familiar with the pens system. Joseph played 147 games with the Penguins from 2020 to 2024 recording 39 points.
Explaining the Trade: I like the trade because the Penguins essentially obtain a young player for free who only makes 950k on a 1 year deal. He was a RFA during the 2024 offseason but the Penguins decided not to qualify him and let him walk for free.
P.O. Joseph is 25 years old and has shown potential in the past of being able to play top 4 minutes. I think he’s a bottom 4 type player that plays a defensive game.
The Blues did not start their 2024-25 season they way they wanted resulting in their coach getting fired on Nov. 24th and felt the need to make a change with their roster.
Getting P.O. back for free is a low risk trade for the Penguins. If it doesn’t workout the pens can always send him down. I believe that he is a player that needs more ice time to develop his game. Not a gamebreaker but a decent 3rd pairing D who can play up in case of injuries.
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