The Carolina Hurricanes added a veteran option to their blue line on Tuesday, signing defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph to a one-year contract.
The deal carries a cap hit of $850,000.
Joseph, 27, comes over after spending last season with the Vancouver Canucks. In 31 games, he scored one goal and added five assists for six points while averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time. His season included a stint on injured reserve because of a groin injury in October, and he also spent time as a healthy scratch.
A native of Laval, Quebec, Joseph entered the NHL as the 23rd overall pick by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Arizona later traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins before he had made his professional debut, as part of the deal that sent forward Phil Kessel to Arizona.
Joseph spent the entire 2019-20 season with Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, putting up three goals and 14 assists for 17 points in 52 games.
He reached the NHL in 2020-21, making his debut with Pittsburgh and recording one goal and four assists for five points in 16 games. From there, he continued to move between the NHL and AHL until 2022-23, when he played the full season with the Penguins and produced five goals and 16 assists for 21 points in 75 games while averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time.
After the 2023-24 season in Pittsburgh, Joseph signed a one-year deal with the St. Louis Blues as an unrestricted free agent.
He appeared in 23 games for St. Louis in 2024-25, finishing without a goal and with two assists before being traded back to Pittsburgh for future considerations.
He wrapped up the season with the Penguins, posting no goals and one assist in 24 games, before moving on to Vancouver as a free agent.
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