The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph to a one-year contract worth $775,000.
Joseph was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Arizona Coyotes. Before getting a chance to play in Arizona, Joseph was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the deal that sent Phil Kessel to the Coyotes. Joseph finally got his first crack in the NHL during the 2020-21 season, where he scored a goal and added four assists in his first 16 games. Joseph spent the following season on the Penguins’ taxi squad, only playing four games, before getting the chance to play his first full NHL season with the Penguins in 2022-23.
Related: 2025 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Joseph played one more season with the Penguins in 2023-24 before he signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Blues. He played 23 games with the Blues before they traded him back to the Penguins to finish out the 2024-25 season.
Joseph’s 2024-25 Season Not as Bad as it Looks
Joseph has struggled to live up to the expectations of a first-round draft pick. In 47 games between the Blues and the Penguins last season, Joseph only managed three points and finished with a minus-22 rating. On the surface, this doesn’t look good, especially for a guy who was drafted to be a mobile shutdown defenseman.
However, a large majority of his dashes came when he was playing with the Penguins, the team with the worst save percentage in the NHL. The Penguins having the worst goaltending in the league makes it hard to judge Joseph’s impact on the game, but what we do know is he did not deserve the minus-15 rating he had in his 24 games with the Penguins last season.
In these 24 games, Joseph had an expected goal share that was 0.39% lower than the Penguins’ as a team, and a on-ice high-danger chance share that was 8.14% higher relative to the team’s, indicating he was not hurting the team defensively. But, while Joseph was on the ice, Penguins’ goalies only made saves on 86.82% of the shots they faced and the team only scored on 3.21% of the shots they took.
The combination of the Penguins’ atrocious save percentage and their inability to convert on quality scoring chances while Joseph was on the ice hurt his numbers. Outside of the unfortunate puck luck Joseph dealt with this season, he was excellent in puck battles, leading both of the Blues and Penguins’ defensemen in takeaways per 60 minutes this season (via Natural Stat Trick).
Canucks Getting Solid Depth Defensemen For Cheap
Joseph set his career high with five goals and 16 assists for 21 points back in 2022-23 when he played 75 games and over 1100 minutes for the Penguins. Since then, Joseph has yet to get back to the 70-game mark and has struggled to stay in an NHL lineup.
He will be joining an already-established defensive core that includes Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Tyler Myers, and Marcus Pettersson on the top four. Joseph will likely be a depth defenseman, consistently playing bottom pair minutes or substituting in and out of the lineup as injuries arise next season.
Regardless, the Canucks are acquiring a 26-year-old who has shown promise at times throughout his young career. At the low cost, this is a fantastic signing for the Canucks, who will be close to the salary cap ceiling heading into next season.
