He became a permanent fixture on Pittsburgh's blueline in 2001–02, with a strong rookie season that ended prematurely with a shoulder injury.

After being rewarded with a one-way contract, Melichar only played eight games in the 2002–03 season due to re-aggravation of the shoulder injury.

[1] After playing for HC Sparta Praha in the Czech Republic during the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he signed a multi-year contract with Pittsburgh on August 15, 2005.

Melichar in his sixth and final season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was partnered on the 2nd defensive pairing with Rob Scuderi.

A statement released from HC Pardubice read: "After a long deliberation, taking into account his family situation, [Josef Melichar] decided this season to retire from hockey for personal reasons and asked us for early termination of the recently signed professional contract with our club.