Penguins to honor former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger on March 29

An era of Pittsburgh professional sports came to an end earlier this winter when Steelers quarterback and future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement. 

A different storied franchise in the city will honor Big Ben later this month. 

The Penguins confirmed via a Tuesday press release that they will pay tribute to the two-time Super Bowl champion signal-caller on March 29. Roethlisberger will participate in a ceremonial puck drop and will have his career spotlighted in a special pregame ceremony. 

As Chris Adamski noted for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Roethlisberger is no stranger to Penguins contests and offered his services to energize the home crowd before Game 1 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. Last month, Dan O'Leary of the Penguins' website wrote about how the Penguins welcomed Roethlisberger to a practice shortly after his retirement. The 40-year-old posed for a picture alongside Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, forward Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang: