The St. Louis Blues announced on Friday that the team has sent former Senators forward Mathieu Joseph down to the American Hockey League. Joseph cleared through NHL waivers and will now report to the Springfield Thunderbirds.
The 29-year-old has 11 points in 39 games for the Blues this season and with his high-end skating speed, perhaps he might have drawn some interest around the league, if not for a $2.95 million AAV price tag.
Advertisement
The interest certainly wouldn’t have come from Ottawa, which sent him to the Blues in the summer of 2024 in what was basically a salary dump, even giving St. Louis a third-round pick to sweeten the deal.
The Senators acquired Joseph at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Nick Paul. The Senators also got a 2024 fourth-round pick in the deal which turned out to Blake Montgomery, a prospect who still has the potential to salvage what looks today like a really bad trade for the Senators.
While Paul is currently on LTIR with an injury, he’s been a good, fast-skating, big-bodied soldier for the Lightning, a player who wanted to re-sign here and would have come in very handy for the Senators over the past five seasons. Paul eclipsed 20 goals and 40 points in each of the past two seasons.
The Sens then saved $200K per season to lock up what turned out to be the lesser player.
Advertisement
After the trade, former Sens GM Pierre Dorion signed Joseph to a four-year deal worth $11.8 million ($2.95 million AAV). Tampa signed Paul to seven-year deal worth $22.05 million ($3.15 million).
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published by The Hockey News. More headlines here:
Team USA Players Shine As Sens Fall Farther Out Of Playoff Race
Tkachuk Fields Questions on USA Celebrations and Desire To Remain In Ottawa
20 Years Later: The Rise And Fall Of One Of The Greatest Teams In Senators History
Only Four Senators Are Signed Through The 2030 Olympics, Will They All Be In France?Senators Goalie Prospect Thriving After Trade To QMJHL’s Top-Ranked Club
Read the full article here
