NHL Rumors: Pittsburgh Penguins Shopping Defenseman

According to Frank Seravalli, Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall has informed each team around the league that Pierre-Olivier Joseph is on the trading block.

The Penguins currently have a surplus of NHL-caliber defensemen, and Joseph's chances of making the roster are not too high because of it. This wasn't an issue before, but now the 23-year-old must be put on waivers if the Penguins plan to send him to the AHL. Thus, instead of likely losing him to nothing through waivers, the Penguins are hoping to get back assets of some kind for the former first-round pick.

Joseph has appeared in 20 NHL games over the last two seasons, where he scored a goal and recorded five points. This past campaign with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he had a solid 10 goals and 33 points in 61 games. He is viewed as having the potential to become a strong offensive defenseman at the NHL level, so there should be interest in his services from here. Let's see if Pittsburgh trades him shortly.