Blues defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph skates during warmups on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, before a preseason game against the Blackhawks at Enterprise Center.
As Pierre-Olivier Joseph spent the past five seasons in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, he got an up-close education on organizational stability.
He shared a dressing room with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and childhood idol Kris Letang. He saw a core that stayed together for two decades, bringing home three Stanley Cups. He lived with Letang and played on a pair with him.
So it鈥檚 no surprise that when Joseph signed with the Blues over the summer, there was a familiar thought after watching the steadiness in Pittsburgh.
鈥淚t makes me want to stay as long as possible here,鈥 Joseph said.
Joseph, who was not tendered a qualifying offer by Pittsburgh and therefore became an unrestricted free agent, signed a one-year contract worth $950,000 that will leave him a restricted free agent next summer. A former first-round pick in 2017, Joseph played 52 games with the Penguins last season.
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He missed 16 games and about six weeks of game action with an unusual injury: a sting from a stingray on his ankle. During November last year, while on the road in California, Joseph was in the ocean when he felt something on his leg.
鈥淲e were at the beach, and next thing you know, I just got stung,鈥 Joseph said. 鈥淭he rest is history.鈥
Joseph said he went to the emergency room to treat the sting, and professionals knew it was a stingray because of 鈥渢he way that the tail got me.鈥
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know,鈥 Joseph said. 鈥淚 thought it was maybe a crab, maybe stepped on a rock, jellyfish. First 10 minutes, it wasn鈥檛 too bad. After that, it was straight pain from my ankle to my knee almost.鈥
In 最新杏吧原创, Joseph is battling not only for a roster spot but also for a spot in the lineup on the back end. The Blues have nine defensemen in camp that fancy themselves NHL players, and that includes Joseph, Scott Perunovich and Tyler Tucker. All three were in the lineup for Tuesday鈥檚 preseason game against Columbus.
鈥淟ast game, we saw guys competing for their jobs that want to be here and stay here and be part of this organization and team and what we鈥檙e trying to do,鈥 Blues coach Drew Bannister said Tuesday morning. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 expect anything differently from our whole group.鈥
Joseph, a 6-2 left-hander, provides length on the back end and was on his offside while paired with Ryan Suter on Tuesday night.
鈥淚 think P.O.鈥檚 played great,鈥 Bannister said. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 just got to stick to what he does well. He skates well, he鈥檚 got a great stick and defend hard and move pucks. That鈥檚 what we鈥檙e asking from him right now. Those are strengths of his game, so we just want to continue to have him build on that.鈥
Joseph added: 鈥淛ust try to stay myself, bring my personality (in) with these guys. This group is so receptive in so many ways, on and off the ice. We all want the same goal, is to win every game. You can see passion, how hungry this team is. Just coming in here, playing my game and being myself around these guys, bringing my strengths and make sure these guys know me on and off the ice.鈥
Alexandrov down
The Blues sent forward Nikita Alexandrov down to AHL affiliate Springfield (Massachusetts) on Tuesday afternoon after he cleared waivers. Alexandrov signed a one-year, two-way contract on Monday before he was waived.
Alexandrov will be one of many centers who could start the season in Springfield, with Dalibor Dvorsky, Hugh McGing and Tanner Dickinson already there and Zach Dean expected to join them by the end of Blues training camp.
Across the past two seasons, Alexandrov has been about a point-per-game player in the AHL, with 45 points in 48 games as he bounced between the NHL and the AHL. He was originally a second-round pick in 2019.
