Canucks place Pierre-Olivier Joseph on injured reserve; Victor Mancini called up

The Vancouver Canucks have announced that defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph has been placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Sept. 30.

Rick Dhaliwal from the Donnie and Dhali show in Vancouver said Joseph is suffering from a groin injury. Joseph joins Nils Hoglander on the sidelines to start the year, with Hoglander out for another 8-9 weeks after undergoing lower-body surgery last month.

Joseph signed a one-year deal with the club earlier this summer after leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins as a UFA. The Laval, Québec native started the season with the St. Louis Blues, but re-joined the Penguins in early December in a trade involving future considerations. Between the two teams, the veteran blueliner registered three assists in 47 games. He has eight goals and 40 points in 194 career games.

The Canucks called up Victor Mancini to join the team ahead of their season debut against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. With Joseph out for the time being, Mancini joins Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, Tyler Myers, Derek Forbort and Elias Pettersson to make up the seven-man blueline.

The 23-year-old defender was acquired from the New York Rangers last year, along with Filip Chytil and a 2025 first-round pick, in a deal that sent JT Miller, Erik Brannstrom, and the rights to Jackson Dorrington to the Big Apple.

Mancini played in 16 regular-season games for Vancouver last season, scoring one goal and recording three points. He also helped the Abbotsford Canucks win their first Calder Cup in franchise history.

Vancouver will start the season at home on Thursday before jetting off to Alberta for a meeting with Edmonton on Saturday. The team will bounce between home and away games next week, starting with St. Louis at home on Monday, Oct. 13, before heading down to Texas on Thursday to kick off a five-game road trip.