St. Louis got more competitive and faster on the wing after trading for Mathieu Joseph
St. Louis did the Ottawa Senators a favor when they acquired Mathieu Joseph and his $2.95 million cap hit. However, this was a savvy pick-up by Doug Armstrong for a player coming off a career year.
Joseph, 27, recorded his best statistical season (35 points in 72 games) since his rookie season in Tampa Bay in 2018-19. Additionally, excluding his 11-game season in 2021-22, he saw his time on ice per game increase to the most it’s ever been.
"We wanted to get to be a faster team," Doug Armstrong said after his flurry of deals on July 2. "If you look at our third and fourth line, I don't think we've ever had better skaters now if you go with Joseph and 'Kapi,' and you go with 'Torp' and [Alexandre] Texier.”
Blues fans got to see Kasperi Kapanen’s speed last season for 73 games. Now, imagine the Finnish speedster playing on a line with Mathieu Joseph. It will be like two cheetahs hunting down their prey on the forecheck.
Joseph is a high-end skater. His explosiveness in straight lines gives him an advantage over other NHL players.
With the puck, he can separate from his opponent to generate chances off the rush. Without the puck, he utilizes his speedy pace to be an aggressive first man on the forecheck and force defenders into committing turnovers.
Last season with the Sens, Joseph led the team in takeaways with 69, one less than St. Louis’ No. 1 center Robert Thomas. His ability to turn pucks over and recoup possession for his team will be a welcome addition considering the Blues' depth player's takeaway numbers were lacking.
The former Ottawa Senator was also a mainstay on their penalty kill, although the team had the 29th-ranked penalty-killing unit at the end of the regular season last year. Expectations are for him to kill penalties for the Blues, which will lessen the load on the team’s star forwards.
Another area Joseph is going to help the team out in is drawing penalties. Last year, he drew 27 penalties. The year before, he drew 23 in 56 games. Oskar Sundqvist and Kevin Hayes tied for the most drawn penalties last year with 23 on St. Louis.
A player with Joseph’s combination of speed and energy allows him to play as a pest at times, which can cause opponents to lose their discipline.
On a playoff-contending team, Mathieu is nothing more than a third-line winger. Elevating him up the lineup in a top-six role is asking a lot out of him, but maybe the Quebec native is skating into his prime, as we see a lot of NHL players do when they hit their late 20s.
Joseph can provide a bit of secondary scoring, although his finishing has never been the best. He’s going to earn his paycheque by competing up and down the ice and playing a factor on the Blues’ penalty kill, aiming to improve on its 79.1% rating in 2023-24.