Brian Dumoulin’s role with the Pittsburgh Penguins is pretty easy to define.

DJ.

“He’s got a good taste for music, and he’s been doing a good job,” teammate Kasperi Kapanen said. “He was doing it long before I was ever here. I love what he’s playing right now.”

Per Dumoulin’s public Spotify account, he already has pieced together 45 songs for the team’s dressing room before games, including “Memories” by Eden Prince.

Recollections of the left-handed defenseman’s 2021-22 campaign on the ice were hardly ideal.

For the first time since the 2014-15 season, when he was just a prospect trying to break into the league, Dumoulin’s typically reliable defensive metrics were in the red. Per Natural Stat Trick, he recorded a Corsi percentage — a figure that measures how many shot attempts for or against a player is on the ice for — was 48.95% in five-on-five situations.

In the six preceding seasons, the 31-year-old Dumoulin was always north of 50% in that area.

While he played in 76 of 82 games during the 2021-22 regular season, nagging injuries hobbled him throughout the campaign.

“It was just little stuff,” Dumoulin said. “(New York Islanders forward) Matt Martin at the end of the (season) gave me a pretty bad charley horse that (lasted) a couple of weeks. Just stuff. A shot off the ankle. That was tough. I was dealing with a sesamoid bone early on in the season in my foot. Just little things like that you play through. If I can put my skate on and play, I’ll try to go out there and do the best that I can.”

His postseason lasted all of one contest when he suffered a hyperextended right knee after crashing into his own goalpost while trying to prevent a goal during Game 1 of a first-round series against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Dumoulin missed the final six games of the series and likely would have missed more time had the Penguins advanced. He indicated it took approximately seven to eight weeks to be fully recovered.

“But I would have, hopefully, tried to play in the second round if I could have,” Dumoulin said. “That’s an injury that, obviously, you can hurt it worse. You could always end up tearing it or require surgery. Luckily, I didn’t need that.”

“It was just the way I slid into the post, my knee hyperextended. It was unfortunate. I dealt with an MCL injury on my other knee (previously). It was something that I knew at least the recovery, what the time frame would be and how to recover from it. You can recover from injuries if you work hard and you have good (rehabilitation) and you’re dialed in on it. I feel pretty good now.”

Such hazards are the price of business for a defensive stalwart such as Dumoulin.

“You’re going to block some shots,” Dumoulin said. “Sometimes they hit you in some funny places, and sometimes they hurt. Other ones, they don’t. You never really know. But as long as I can go out there, and if it’s nothing broken or torn, I’ll try to go out there and play.”

A rejuvenated Dumoulin would be good on a lot of levels for the Penguins. As the longtime counterbalance to aggressive franchise defenseman Kris Letang, Dumoulin registers as a 7 on the Penguins’ pH scale.

“He’s just a stabilizing force back there for us,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

“He’s got a very predictable game. He’s easy to play with if you’re his partner because his communication skills are great. He’s always in the right spot. He’s one of the more positionally sound defensemen that I’ve coached in my time in the NHL. He defends so well with his stick, his mobility and his size. And he’s a good puck mover. That’s what he brings. He’s a calming force. He’s a stabilizing force for our defensemen.”

Beyond his on-ice attributes, Dumoulin could be accused of serving as the team’s conscience, even without the presence of a letter on his jersey beyond the occasions forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or Letang are absent.

“He’s still a huge part of this team and a huge leader,” Kapanen said. “Leads the way. Just a great guy to have around the locker room. A funny guy. He’s been here a long time. We’re just lucky to have him on the team so far.”

How much longer Dumoulin remains a member of the team is a matter of speculation. He is entering the final year of a six-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $4.1 million. There have been some initial discussions between Dumoulin’s representation and management about an extension. At the same time, defensemen in their 30s who block shots and kill penalties don’t always age very well.

Dumoulin suggests his future, wherever if unfolds, will be fruitful provided his team finds the right harmony.

“That’s the end part,” Dumoulin said. “If we win and we go far and we go deep, those players are always wanted.

“I want to win the Stanley Cup. For me, that’s what I try to bring to this team. I’ll sacrifice and do everything I can. If it’s requiring staying back, I’ll stay back. If it’s requiring playing (defense) and getting pucks out of our (defensive) zone, that’s it. Just winning hockey games.”

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