St. Louis Blues Split Up Joseph Brothers, Trade Pierre-Olivier Joseph To Pittsburgh Penguins

The St. Louis Blues separated defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph from his brother, Mathieu, in a trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for future considerations.

The move happened before the NHL's holiday roster freeze on 11:59 p.m. local time Thursday. Teams will be allowed to make trades again at 12:01 a.m. local time on Dec. 28.

Despite being selected 23rd overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2017 NHL draft, Pittsburgh is where Pierre-Olivier Joseph's career began in the 2020-21 season. After being drafted, he was traded to the Penguins in a package that included Phil Kessel going to the Coyotes.

In his rookie season, the defenseman scored one goal and four assists for five points in 16 games for Pittsburgh. After playing only four games in the season after that, Joseph became an NHL regular.

In 2022-23, he played 75 regular-season games for the Penguins. Fast forward to today, and the Laval, Que., native played 23 out of 33 games for the Blues.

However, Joseph has been averaging a career-low 13:06 of ice time. In his last appearance against the Dallas Stars, he played just under eight minutes. He has two helpers on the season and a minus-seven rating.

The 25-year-old joined the Blues in the off-season, signing a one-year contract worth $950,000. The Blues also acquired Mathieu Joseph from the Ottawa Senators, uniting the brothers for a few months of the season.

After the trade, Mathieu Joseph shared a photo of their last dinner together before Pierre-Olivier Joseph heads back to the Penguins.

This trade allows the Blues to create some salary cap space. According to PuckPedia, St. Louis has about $4.39 million in cap space with Torey Krug and his $6.5-million cap hit on long-term injured reserve.

After acquiring D-man Cam Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, Joseph hasn't been able to get back into the lineup. As a result, moving Joseph also cleared some roster space for the Blues.

Joseph has played 170 NHL games and has scored eight goals and 39 points in his career. He also made 138 appearances in the minors, all with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Related: Rangers Trade Kaapo Kakko: Two Other NHL Teams Who Should Trade Before Roster Freeze

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