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Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins Looking to Move Pierre-Olivier Joseph

According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the Pittsburgh Penguins are shopping defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

Despite the 2022-23 season having not begun yet, the Pittsburgh Penguins are reportedly already looking to make some moves.

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According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Penguins general manager Ron Hextall recently let it be known to all of the other 31 clubs in the league that defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph is available. The reason behind this development is the fact that Hextall’s club has nine NHL caliber blue liners in Kris Letang, Brian Dumolin, Jeff Petry, Marcus Pettersson, Ty Smith, Jan Rutta, Chad Ruhwedel, Mark Friedman, and of course Joseph.

Joseph, 23, is a defenseman who boasts plenty of talent, but has yet to translate it into NHL success. Taken 23rd overall in the 2017 draft by the Arizona Coyotes, he was sent to the Penguins alongside Alex Galchenyuk back in 2019 in a deal that saw Phil Kessel, Dane Birks and a fourth-round pick head the other way. At that time, he was viewed as a top end prospect.

Other than a brief four game stint with the Pens, Joseph spent the 2021-22 season with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. In 61 games, he put up a solid 10 goals and 33 points, while also recording five points in six playoff outings. Despite those numbers, however, he has always been projected as more of a defensive specialist at the NHL level, with some saying just a year ago he still had top four potential.

It is obvious that any team acquiring Joseph has somewhat of a project on their hands, but given that he still has plenty of potential, the Pens should receive plenty of interest. In fact, the main reason he is on the block is likely due to the fact management believes he would fetch them a more significant return than a few others he is competing against for a roster spot. Nevertheless, a move here seems imminent, and could very well take place before the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

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