Photo credit: USA TODAY Sports
A former first round pick has recently opened up on his decision to sign with the Vancouver Canucks as an unrestricted free agent at the beginning of July.
The Vancouver Canucks were one of the more active teams throughout the first full month of the National Hockey League’s offseason, signing Brock Boeser to a seven-year contract, while also giving contract extension to forward Conor Garland and goaltender Thatcher Demko.One move this summer that went a bit under the radar was the signing of Pierre-Olivier Joseph, a former first round pick of the Arizona Coyotes, who will play a depth role for the Canucks this coming season.The signing of Pierre-Olivier Joseph was a little surprising at the time, especially when considering they re-signed veteran Derek Forbort and there are a couple of young guys ready for a full-time NHL role this season – Elias Pettersson and Victor Mancini.
Despite not being guaranteed an everyday role and potentially being scratched on occasion, if things go well in camp for Elias Pettersson & Victor Mancini, Pierre-Olivier Joseph chose the Vancouver Canucks as his next team, landing the league minimum salary of $775,000 US on a one-year deal.
During a recent interview with RDS, Joseph opened up a bit on his decision to sign with the Vancouver Canucks, which will see him reconnect with Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford, who traded for him when they were in Pittsburgh’s front office.
Note: the following was translated from French
“I have a good relationship with the management there. They’re former Pittsburgh general managers, the ones who came looking for me in Arizona. I have good relationships with them. I also know a few players on the team. It was time for me to make another call.” Joseph said.
The Laval, Quebec native left the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer and signed a one-year deal with the St. Louis Blues, which allowed him to join his older brother, Mathieu.
In mid-December, after 23 games with the St. Louis Blues, the 26-year-old was traded to his former team in Pittsburgh for future considerations and went on to appear in 24 games with the Penguins and became a UFA on July 1st after he was not issued a qualifying offer by Kyle Dubas.
As things stand right now, Joseph is more than likely slated to begin the 2025-26 season as the Vancouver Canucks’ seventh defenseman, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him get into some action early on, especially if Adam Foote wants to keep things fresh and rotate the bottom pair on a game-by-game basis.
Previously on CanucksDaily
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Former First Round Pick Opens up on Decision to Sign With the Vancouver Canucks
Will Pierre-Olivier Joseph suit up for more than half of the NHL season (41+ games) with the Vancouver Canucks?