Joseph's family reunion in Missouri got us thinking about hockey trivia. Have two brothers ever played for the Ottawa Senators?
It's never an easy thing being traded. But when the Senators dealt winger Mathieu Joseph to the St. Louis Blues this week, having the Blues acquire his brother and best friend the next day probably took a lot of the sting out of it.
Mathieu was sent to St. Louis on Tuesday, and his brother, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, was signed by the Blues on Wednesday, getting a one-year contract.
Mathieu told me back in March that he and his brother didn't always like each other.
“I think growing up, we were not as tight as we are now," Mathieu said. "He had his friends, and I had my friends. But the more we grew up, the closer we got. With both of us playing in the NHL and having the same lifestyle for a long time, nowadays, I would definitely consider him my best friend. We have a great relationship, and I’m very lucky to have a brother like him.”
During games in the past, they've been more opponent than sibling. But Mathieu said that doesn’t mean he’d ever get in a fight with Pierre-Olivier.
“My mom would never let us fight,” Joseph said. “Honestly, I don’t think she’d talk to us if we ever got in a fight during a game.”
But the Josephs have butted heads. In fact, Mathieu says he and Pierre-Olivier hold the distinction of being one of the rare brother combinations to take off-setting minors against each other in three different leagues – major junior, the AHL, and the NHL. In the NHL incident, Mathieu didn't even do anything.
None of that will be a concern next season. Thanks to the Senators' need to clear out some cap space, the Josephs are now on the same team.
That's old hat in St. Louis, though. The Blues Brothers acts of the past include the Plagers, the Sutters, and the Cavallinis.
It got us wondering if two brothers had ever both played for the modern-day Ottawa Senators. By our count (loosely counted on a hazy Sunday morning), it only happened once, but they never played at the same time.
In total, 20 Ottawa Senators had a brother who also played in the NHL. That includes Mike Comrie, Matt Cullen, Ted Drury, Nick Foligno, Marian Hossa, Mark Laforest, Milan Michalek, Kevin Miller, Brad Norton, Tom Pyatt, Jamie Rivers, Buddy Robinson, Jarkko Ruutu, Peter Schaefer, Nick Shore, Mark Stone, Brady Tkachuk, and Sylvain Turgeon.
But the only brothers who both played for the modern-day Senators are Gord and Kevin Dineen.
Did we miss anyone? Let us know in the comments below.