The 25-year-old defenseman is happy to be back in a familiar place - with familiar faces - and is ready to help the team win

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph sat at his locker stall on Wednesday after practice, going back and forth with new defensive partner Owen Pickering.

"You've never even heard me sing," Pickering said. "You can't say that I'm not good."

"I don't have to hear you sing to know," Joseph quipped. 

Joseph's presence and always-positive demeanor in the locker room is something that is well-known and appreciated by teammates. He smiled when asked about his new defensive partner, saying that it's been fun to see a young guy like Pickering who fits right in, is eager to learn, and brings some energy into the locker room.

And - perhaps - that's because he, too, has spent a lot of time in that same room being in a similar role, dating back to Joseph's first stint in Pittsburgh from 2020-24.

"I feel like I was in the same position a couple years ago here," Joseph said. "Just seeing him coming in and smiling and having fun with the older guys, younger guys, and newer guys... he's been a sponge so far and just wants to improve every day. And he's just a great teammate and a great player out there, so it's fun to have him here."

Even though he technically is a "new guy" this season, Joseph doesn't feel like a new guy. Despite having a new defense partner and a few new teammates, much has felt the same since he was brought back to Pittsburgh via trade from the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 18, which came less than six months after he was non-tendered as a restricted free agent by the Penguins over the summer.

He has felt good in those eight games since the trade, and the adjustment period for him has been short and sweet since he was already familiar with the team and its system. And he - by no means - anticipated ever coming back to the Penguins, but he's glad he did. 

"I didn't expect to come back at all," Joseph said. "But coming back and seeing the old guys, it's fun. I feel like I never left. It feels like it was two weeks ago, and I'm right back here. There's so many people that went through this organization before me that I've had the chance to meet, just great hall-of-famers and good personalities that I've had the chance to play with... it's like coming back home for me."

It certainly helps a player fit in and feel at home in a locker room when they already have so much familiarity - and many strong relationships - with the guys in it. This is particularly true with his landlord and "like-a-sibling" Kris Letang, who he has grown close with over the years.

Joseph did get the chance to play with his brother, Mathieu, in St. Louis - an experience that he said was "one for the memory books" - and he sees some of the same qualities in Letang as he does in his actual brother.

"It's been the same thing all over again," Joseph said of Letang. "It feels like we missed each other a lot. It's good to be back with each other, and I feel like we need each other from time to time. So, it's just fun to have, 'like my sibling,' I guess... every day."

On the hockey side of things, Joseph has not registered any points since coming back home to Pittsburgh, but given the defensive injury situation at the time when he was dealt - Marcus Pettersson was out with a lower-body injury at the time, and Pickering and Kris Letang sustained injuries shortly after - he was asked to play big minutes from the get-go. 

Over his first six games, Joseph played top-six minutes - many on his off-side - and averaged 20 minutes and 46 seconds of ice time in that span, including some time on the penalty kill. It was quite a jump from where he was in St. Louis - averaging 13 minutes and six seconds - where he saw just over seven minutes in his final game there. 

In the two games since the blue line has been back to full health, Joseph has played on that bottom pairing with Pickering, which are the minutes he's more accustomed to. But his familiarity with the system and the team - as well as his versatility - is something that head coach Mike Sullivan and the organization are familiar with and have used to their advantage.

Sullivan pointed to a laundry list of items that Joseph has been contributing in hockey games for Pittsburgh - his mobility, willingness to take hits, ability to deliver pucks on the breakout, "getting available" for his battling wingers in the offensive zone, and strong defense on the rush among them - as well as what he brings in the locker room as some key factors that they expected in his return to Pittsburgh.

"Those are all the things we anticipated that we'd get from him when [GM and POHO Kyle Dubas] re-acquired him, and he's bringing it," Sullivan said. "He's bringing it. He's a great kid, he's a terrific teammate, he's a popular guy in our room, and I think he's fit in really well for us. And, on top of that, we've played him on the off-side. He's been playing the right side, and I think he's doing a really good job."

Joseph knows that the task ahead of him and the team isn't easy. They are currently tied points-wise with the Columbus Blue Jackets - who bested them, 4-3, in a shootout on Tuesday - for the second wild card spot in the East. They have a tough opponent in the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday before a weekend back-to-back home tilt against two teams - the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning - who are hanging right around them in the standings.

He is happy to be back and fighting for a playoff spot with a team - and teammates - he truly cares about. And Joseph's ultimate goal is to help the team win hockey games, especially with the gauntlet ahead of them. 

"It's good to be back battling with these guys," Joseph said. "Just jumping in mid-season is kind of weird - especially here - but I just want to be with these guys and battle as hard as I can and help the team win as much as I can."