Penguins Player Makes Surprising Appearance During Practice

This season hasn't gone the way those in Pittsburgh would have hoped, and while there are many factors behind their struggles, it's hard to ignore the injury issues that they've seemingly dealt with all season long.

One of those injuries was to veteran Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who the team acquired after losing him in the summer as a free agent, and unfortunately, he's been on the shelf for a number of weeks now, with his last game coming on the 1st of March.

While there have been some promising updates on his potential return, as of right now nothing looks likely for the near future, as reporter Seth Rorabaugh has now revealed that he took in the latest Penguins practice in gym clothes, which isn't a good sign for a potential return.

The 25-year old has tallied just one assist in 24 games since being re-acquired from the St. Louis Blues earlier in the season, but given his valuable presence on the ice along with his physicality, the team would absolutely love to have him in the lineup right now.

Unfortunately, as of right now, all signs are pointing to him not returning at any point this season, and along with Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak, those are some key names to be missing from the Penguins lineup.

The one-year deal that Joseph signed this past summer is up after 2024/25, so it's unclear whether or not the Penguins will look to bring him back or let him walk into free agency, but either way, if he can stay healthy, the belief is that he's got a very long and solid NHL career ahead.