Checking in on the St. Louis Blues' Offseason Additions (Part 3) - Dylan Holloway and the Joseph Brothers

Mathieu Joseph

Mathieu Joseph was acquired in a trade with Ottawa that sent a 2025 3rd round draft pick back to the Senators. Coming off a career-high in points in 2023-24 (35), the elder Joseph brother was brought in to provide some depth to the forward group, but primarily to provide some speed and power. How has Mathieu Joseph measured up to his cost and his preseason expectations?

There is some important context to add to the Mathieu Joseph discussion. Among Blues skaters with at least 18 games played, Mathieu Joseph ranks 2nd to last in total time on ice (290 minutes), behind only Alexandre Texier. Furthermore, his average time on ice among Blues skaters with at least 18 games played ranks 2nd to last (12:08), trailing only Nathan Walker. Overall, Mathieu Joseph isn't seeing a lot of ice time (his lowest since the 2020-21 season).

Defensively speaking, Mathieu Joseph has been relatively impressive in some counting stat categories, considering his limited ice time. Among Blues forwards at 5-on-5, Mathieu Joseph is tied for the 2nd most takeaways (8) and has the 7th most hits (43). On the other side of the "ice time coin," Mathieu Joseph has not been on the ice for many goals against, expected goals against, or scoring chances against, although this is largely due to a lack of playing time.

Offensively, Mathieu Joseph has yet to see actual on-ice, individual results in counting stats. In 23 games played, Mathieu Joseph has only 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists). Mathieu Joseph's results are not impressive, but he is largely helping his teammates in other, intangible ways.

Take a look at some of his on-ice rate stats, and the story becomes more interesting. Among Blues forwards at 5-on-5, Mathieu Joseph ranks top 4 in on-ice Corsi %, Fenwick %, xGoals For %, scoring chances for %, and high danger chances for %. He isn't necessarily the individual player converting chances and seeing results, but he is often a big reason for his forward line's success.

St. Louis isn't getting a whole lot from Mathieu Joseph production-wise, but he has excelled in some defensive categories, and his underlying offensive metrics are impressive as well. Mathieu Joseph is a decent candidate for some increased ice time, which could help his overall results improve.

P.O. Joseph

P.O. Joseph, the younger Joseph brother, was signed to a one-year $950,000 contract over the offseason. This was a low-stakes free agent signing to take a chance on a former first-round draft pick, but the experiment is over as P.O. Joseph was traded to his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in exchange for future considerations.

In 23 games played with the Blues, P.O. Joseph only had 2 points (2 assists). The young defenseman was a net negative offensively, but occasionally had some promising performances, rifling in shots from the blue line or creating rebound opportunities.

P.O. Joseph wasn't necessarily a difference-making defensive presence, either. In his 23 games played, he only had 13 blocks, 13 hits, and seven takeaways. Where P.O. Joseph struggled was staying out of the penalty box - his 23 penalty minutes still rank 3rd on the Blues, behind two players with 36 games played (Brayden Schenn and Jake Neighbours).

Ultimately, P.O. Joseph was a depth piece for the Blues, and trading him to Pittsburgh helps clear a bit of a logjam on the 3rd defensive pair. He wasn't a producer for the Blues in any meaningful way, and for a team that is trying to make a playoff push and just traded for Cam Fowler, St. Louis couldn't afford to give P.O. Joseph a roster spot any longer.

That concludes this short series of evaluating the Blues' offseason additions! If you missed the first installment on Philip Broberg and Radek Faksa, you can find it here. If you missed the second installment on Ryan Suter and Alexandre Texier, check it out here.