Pens D Joseph 'out there' on trade market

With nine defencemen currently on their roster, it appears the Pittsburgh Penguins may be willing to part with Pierre-Olivier Joseph on the trade market.

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger said Tuesday on Insider Trading that Olivier-Joseph is available for teams seeking help on the blueline.

"Look, there's a growing list of Canadian teams that are in the market for a defenceman - you know, (Jakob) Chychrun is high-rent and the ask is tremendous, so we'll see whether the likes of Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton or Vancouver are going to buckle and pay that price or they'll look elsewhere," Dreger said. "But I can tell you those are the teams that are in the market. If you look at Montreal, they're definitely looking for a right-handed shot; look at Toronto, yes, absolutely they're looking for a right-handed shot.

"Pierre-Olivier Joseph, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is out there. I'm not attaching him to Montreal, or Toronto, or any of the Canadian teams, but Pittsburgh has nine defencemen. He's a young player, a first-round draft pick, so he might be a fit with one of those clubs."

The 23-year-old has two assists in three games this season after going without a point in four games with the Penguins last year. He had 10 goals and 33 points in 61 games with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2021-22.

Selected 23rd overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2017 NHL Draft, Joseph was traded to the Penguins as part of their return for Phil Kessel in 2019.

Joseph, who is signed through next season at a cap hit of $825,000 has one goal and seven points in 23 career NHL games.