P.O Joseph was hunched over at his stall in the Penguins' locker room after practice on Tuesday, attempting to muster up the energy for a media scrum.
"Ah, God," Joseph said before flashing his usual giant grin. "Long time no see the ice."
The Penguins' hour-long practice marked Joseph's first full session with the team since sustaining an upper-body injury on March 1. And despite it being a lengthy, tiring practice, Joseph was thrilled just to be on the ice with the guys again.
"It was just good to be back out there," he said. "It's hard to be in the stands and watching the guys battle like that. It just feels good to go on the ice and battle with the guys."
Joseph's injury was an unfortunate one in a loss to Boston at PPG Paints Arena last month. He was on the other end of a collision that resulted in an injury early in the game. Brad Marchand was skating into the corner with the puck with Joseph behind him when Marchand lost his footing as he was going into the boards, and contact from Joseph exacerbated the fall and sent Marchand head-first into the boards.
There was no penalty on the play for Joseph, and as a result he seemed to be drawing the ire of Marchand's teammates from that point forward. Later in the period he was hit by two Bruins at once in the corner -- receiving most of the contact from Mark Kastelic -- and went down. He was able to get up and skate off under his own power after a few moments, but didn't return to the game.
"Everything happened so fast," Joseph recalled. "We're on the PK and I just tried to play hard. Part of the game is contact. I know what to expect when I saw Brad on the ice."
The timing was especially unfortunate for Joseph, who is set to be a restricted free agent this summer. It's not ideal to lose the last month-plus of the season due to injury and potentially hurt your odds when it comes to getting a contract in the summer. Joseph said he isn't trying to worry about the business aspect of it all, and is just hoping to come back for the Penguins' finale to end the season on a personal good note.
"I think it just puts a positive side to my season," Joseph said. "You know, it's been a hard season, a lot of movement, a lot of finding myself. To be able to come back here on the ice before the end of the season, it's good and makes me want to go back on the ice every day until the first of the season next year."
It's been a whirlwind of a year for Joseph. The Penguins initially expected to qualify him in restricted free agency last summer, but wanting to avoid a potential arbitration case, they opted to let him hit unrestricted free agency and keep negotiating with him. But when the opportunity to sign in St. Louis and be teammates with his brother Mathieu presented itself, Joseph leapt at the opportunity, only to be traded back to the Penguins midseason.
"It's been a roller coaster of emotion, I would say," Joseph reflected. "You know, leaving this place, finding a great place like St. Louis and great teammates, and then coming back here to home, really. It's been learning a lot, a lot of experience this year. But I took a lot of positive from this year. Been moving around, but it's good to be back here with with the Penguins."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
9:27 pm - 04.15.2025Cranberry, Pa.Joseph practices in full, could return for finale
P.O Joseph was hunched over at his stall in the Penguins' locker room after practice on Tuesday, attempting to muster up the energy for a media scrum.
"Ah, God," Joseph said before flashing his usual giant grin. "Long time no see the ice."
The Penguins' hour-long practice marked Joseph's first full session with the team since sustaining an upper-body injury on March 1. And despite it being a lengthy, tiring practice, Joseph was thrilled just to be on the ice with the guys again.
"It was just good to be back out there," he said. "It's hard to be in the stands and watching the guys battle like that. It just feels good to go on the ice and battle with the guys."
Joseph's injury was an unfortunate one in a loss to Boston at PPG Paints Arena last month. He was on the other end of a collision that resulted in an injury early in the game. Brad Marchand was skating into the corner with the puck with Joseph behind him when Marchand lost his footing as he was going into the boards, and contact from Joseph exacerbated the fall and sent Marchand head-first into the boards.
There was no penalty on the play for Joseph, and as a result he seemed to be drawing the ire of Marchand's teammates from that point forward. Later in the period he was hit by two Bruins at once in the corner -- receiving most of the contact from Mark Kastelic -- and went down. He was able to get up and skate off under his own power after a few moments, but didn't return to the game.
"Everything happened so fast," Joseph recalled. "We're on the PK and I just tried to play hard. Part of the game is contact. I know what to expect when I saw Brad on the ice."
The timing was especially unfortunate for Joseph, who is set to be a restricted free agent this summer. It's not ideal to lose the last month-plus of the season due to injury and potentially hurt your odds when it comes to getting a contract in the summer. Joseph said he isn't trying to worry about the business aspect of it all, and is just hoping to come back for the Penguins' finale to end the season on a personal good note.
"I think it just puts a positive side to my season," Joseph said. "You know, it's been a hard season, a lot of movement, a lot of finding myself. To be able to come back here on the ice before the end of the season, it's good and makes me want to go back on the ice every day until the first of the season next year."
It's been a whirlwind of a year for Joseph. The Penguins initially expected to qualify him in restricted free agency last summer, but wanting to avoid a potential arbitration case, they opted to let him hit unrestricted free agency and keep negotiating with him. But when the opportunity to sign in St. Louis and be teammates with his brother Mathieu presented itself, Joseph leapt at the opportunity, only to be traded back to the Penguins midseason.
"It's been a roller coaster of emotion, I would say," Joseph reflected. "You know, leaving this place, finding a great place like St. Louis and great teammates, and then coming back here to home, really. It's been learning a lot, a lot of experience this year. But I took a lot of positive from this year. Been moving around, but it's good to be back here with with the Penguins."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
We’d love to have you!