Canucks sign Pierre – Olivier Joseph signs 1-year contract – Hockey writer – Canucks deal
The Vancouver Canucks have signed a one-year contract with defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph, worth $775,000.
Joseph drafted the first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft for the Coyotes, Arizona. Before having a chance to play in Arizona, Joseph was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, a deal that sent Phil Kessel to the Coyotes. Joseph finally got his first rift in the NHL in the 2020-21 season, scoring goals and adding four assists in the first 16 games. Joseph spent the following season with the Penguin Taxi team, playing only four games before having the chance to compete in his first NHL season with the Penguins in 2022-23.
Related: 2025 NHL Free Agent Tracker
Joseph played for a season with the Penguins in 2023-24 before signing a one-year contract with St. Louis Blues. He played 23 games with the Blues before they handed him over to the Penguins to end the 2024-25 season.
Joseph’s 2024-25 season is not as bad as it looks
Joseph has been working to meet expectations for a first-round pick. In 47 games between the Blues and the Penguins last season, Joseph scored only three points and ended with a minus 22 rating. On the surface, this doesn’t look good, especially for someone who has been selected as a mobile shutdown defender.
However, most of his dash is that it is the NHL’s worst savings percentage team when he plays against the Penguins. The Penguins have the worst goalkeeper in the league, so it’s hard to tell how Joseph’s impact has on the game, but what we know is that he wasn’t worthy of his 24 games last season with the Penguins.
In those 24 games, Joseph’s target share was 0.39% lower than the Penguins’ team and 8.14% higher share of the team’s ice high-crisis chances, indicating that he has no defensive team. But despite Joseph being on the ice, the Penguins goalkeepers only saved 86.82% of the shots they faced, and the team scored only 3.21% of the score they shot.
The combination of Penguin’s cruel percentage of savings and their inability to convert quality score opportunities while Joseph is on the ice hurts his number. Beyond his unfortunate hockey luck, Joseph handled his outstanding performance this season, leading the Blues and Penguins defenses every 60 minutes this season (through natural statistics skills).
Canucks get solid deep defense at a cheap price
Joseph set his career high with five goals and 16 assists in the 2022-23 game, when he played 75 games and the Penguins played 1,100 minutes. Since then, Joseph hasn’t returned to 70 games and has been working hard to stay in the NHL roster.
He will join the already established defensive core, which includes Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson. Joseph may be a deep defender who consistently hits the bottom minutes or replaces the roster when he gets injured next season.
Anyway, the Canucks are acquiring a 26-year-old who has shown hope at times throughout his young career. At a low cost price, this is a brilliant signing for the Canucks, and they will be close to the salary cap that will enter next season.
