Penguins place defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph on IR

The Penguins announced theyve placed defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph on injured reserve.

Theres no corresponding transaction for now, so theyre left with an open roster spot.

Joseph, 25, quietly departed Saturdays loss to the Bruins with an upper-body injury in the first period, not before laying a huge hit on Boston captain Brad Marchand .

He was held out of yesterdays loss to the Maple Leafs as a result, allowing Ryan Graves to re-enter the lineup after he sat as a healthy scratch against the Bs.

Its Josephs first IR placement of whats been an expressly disappointing season for the 2017 first-round pick.

He was non-tendered by Pittsburgh last summer and signed a one-year deal with the Blues on the open market, but found his way back to the Pens when they acquired him in mid-December for future considerations.

Joseph has posted decent possession metrics (51.5 CF%, 47.4 xGF% at even strength) since the move, but they havent translated to the scoresheet.

He has just one assist in 24 appearances with a -15 rating, averaging 17:20 per game.

Its a far cry from the 21 points he posted in 75 games with Pittsburgh in 2022-23 that earned him some very fringe Calder Trophy consideration.

The ex-Coyotes prospect, initially acquired by Pittsburgh in the 2021 Phil Kessel trade, has fallen out of the regular lineup as a result.

Hes been a healthy scratch on a few occasions recently as the Pens look to work in new additions Vincent Desharnais and Vladislav Kolyachonok into depth roles.

Joseph is slated for restricted free agency this summer, but with how things are trending, the Penguins will likely release him for the second season in a row.

Hell be hard-pressed to find a raise on his $950K cap hit for 2024-25.

This article first appeared on Pro Hockey Rumors and was syndicated with permission..

This article has been shared from the original article on yardbarker, here is the link to the original article.