Earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins reacquired Pierre-Olivier Joseph, a former defenseman who spent four years with the club before signing with the St. Louis Blues as a free agent in July 2024.
As Joseph regains his former sweater, No. 73, and swaps out his blue and yellow gear for black and gold, we thought it would be fun to look back at some notable players who had two stints with the Penguins.
John Cullen (1988-1991, 1994-1995)
John Cullen was an undrafted forward who joined the Penguins for the 1988-89 season. In his second season, he scored 32 goals with 92 points.
Related: 5 Things To Know About Penguins Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Surprisingly, after 94 points in 65 games, Pittsburgh traded him to the Hartford Whalers on Mar. 4, 1991, in the deal that brought Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson to town.
After playing with the Whalers and Toronto Maple Leafs, Cullen returned to the Penguins as a free agent in 1994. In the shortened season, he played 46 games and scored 14 goals and 30 points. He left the following summer to finish his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Rob Brown (1987-1991, 1997-2000)
Rob Brown was a Penguins fourth-round pick who scored 49 goals and 115 points during his second season, 1988-89. Within a season of scoring 33 goals, the club traded him to the Whalers for Scott Young on Dec. 21, 1990.
Rob Brown is remembered as one of the most popular players in @penguins history – “The kid could score.”
Steel City Chronicles: Rob Brown debuts Saturday, November 16th at 5:30 pm AND after Penguins Final 🐧 pic.twitter.com/gJTZSqBj1e
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) November 14, 2024
Brown bounced around, with stops in Hartford, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles before returning to Pittsburgh as a free agent in 1997. In his final three seasons, he scored 38 goals and 87 points in 190 games.
At the time of his trade in 1990, Brown was only one of six players to record a 100-point season with the Penguins.
Martin Straka (1992-1995, 1999-2004)
Martin Straka was the 19th overall pick in the 1992 Draft, who debuted during the 1992-93 season, finding chemistry with Jaromir Jagr to become a 30-goal scorer at just 21. After 31 games, the Penguins traded him to the Ottawa Senators for Norm Maciver and Troy Murray.
Straka returned as a free agent in 1997, compiling arguably the best statistics of his career on his second tour. In 1998-99, he tallied a career-high 35 goals and netted a career-high 95 points two years later.
He only scored 30 goals…