Don’t ever forget what Phil Kessel did for the Penguins

By Joe Starkey

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/2019/06/29/Penguins-trade-Phil-Kessel-hockey-forward-free-agent-Coyotes-Galchenyuk/stories/201906290064

June 29, 2019

There’s a decent chance we’ll look back on the Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin era and be perfectly justified making the following statement: They only would have won a single Stanley Cup if Phil Kessel hadn’t come along.

Maybe they’ll win another without Kessel, who was unsurprisingly shipped off to Rick Tocchet Land Saturday night, traded to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for enigmatic forward Alex Galchenyuk and prospect defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

Galchenyuk was a better return than I imagined -- he could play with Malkin -- and I can’t discount the idea of the Penguins stars winning another Cup. Crosby’s still great. Malkin has bounced back big before. This team still has plenty of talent, including some younger talent that doesn’t get talked about a lot. Jim Rutherford has some freed-up cash now, too.

But let’s not fool ourselves. It takes incredible luck to win it all. Any championship team will tell you that. Plus, teams all over the Eastern Conference are rising fast.

Let’s be honest about this, too: Kessel helped secure legacies here, including his own. He changed everything. He was Rutherford’s most significant addition. A team that couldn’t score in the playoffs despite all its elite talent – the Penguins had two goals in an entire series against the Boston Bruins – suddenly could again. Kessel led the NHL in playoff goals over the 2016-17 postseasons.

He also became a folk hero, an Everyman. Just like you, just like me, with the gut and the receding hair line. He didn’t give a hoot about what anyone thought of him, either. That endeared him to people. And what a player on his good days. A sniper when he elected to shoot, which wasn’t often enough in recent years. An elite playmaker, which some of us didn’t know until we got to see him for 82 games a season (and he always plays 82 games).

Kessel did have 174 points over the past two seasons, you know.

At the same time, he wasn’t easy to handle. That’s a fact. He doesn’t like to be coached. He certainly doesn’t want to play on a third line.

Click on the link below to read the rest of the article:

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/2019/06/29/Penguins-trade-Phil-Kessel-hockey-forward-free-agent-Coyotes-Galchenyuk/stories/201906290064

Phil Kessel 2016 Playoff Highlights | Stanley Cup Champion

Phil Kessel is the wild card of the Pittsburgh Penguins

Phil Kessel Highlights |HD| Pittsburgh Penguins

AFTER HE VETOED ONE MOVE, PENGUINS SHIP KESSEL TO COYOTES FOR GALCHENYUK, JOSEPH AND A PICK

By Jared Clinton
https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/after-he-vetoed-one-move-penguins-ship-kessel-to-coyotes-for-galchenyuk-joseph-and-a-pick
June 29, 2019

Phil Kessel #81 of the Pittsburgh Penguins fires a shot past Zach Hyman #11 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on October 18, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Penguins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-0.(Claus Andersen/Getty Images North America)

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. After attempting to trade Phil Kessel to the Minnesota Wild earlier this month only to have the 31-year-old veto the move, the Pittsburgh Penguins have offloaded the two-time Stanley Cup-winning winger to the Arizona Coyotes, moving out his cap hit and creating some valuable financial flexibility.

In a move made official Saturday evening, the Coyotes acquired Kessel from the Penguins along with project prospect Dane Birks and a 2021 fourth-round pick in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk and defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who was drafted 23rd overall by Arizona in 2017. No salary was retained as part of the deal, meaning the entirety of the $6.8-million for which Kessel counted against the Penguins’ cap has been moved out by Pittsburgh. In the exchange, the Penguins clear $1.9 million, giving them roughly $5 million with which to work this summer.

It had become clear in recent weeks that Kessel’s time in Pittsburgh was set to come to a close sooner rather than later. Though he was among the Penguins’ top scorers and fresh off of an 82-point campaign that matched the second-highest scoring season of his career, rumors of tension between Kessel and coach Mike Sullivan have swirled for some time. And Pittsburgh’s willingness to move Kessel – and his willingness to accept a move to Arizona, which is likely tied in part to the presence of coach Rick Tocchet – is an absolute boon to an offense that was in desperate need of adding a pure scorer to its lineup.

Last season, the Coyotes finished in a tie for third-last in the NHL with 209 goals, a meager 2.68 per game. Not only was Arizona offensively inept, though, their power play was also among the worst in the league. Kessel potentially stands to solve both problems and greatly improves the Coyotes’ situation. To wit, Kessel ranks 28th in goals over the past four seasons, his entire tenure in Pittsburgh, and his 36 power play goals rank 23rd in the NHL over that same span. Kessel is, in effect, a replacement for Galchenyuk, too, though one that offers much greater upside despite the fact he’s entering the late stages of or exiting his prime. Galchenyuk, for all he did well in Arizona, didn’t transform into the top-six pivot for which the Coyotes had hoped, and the 25-year-old spent the majority of his time on the wing while scoring 19 goals and 41 points.

Alex Galchenyuk (Michael Chow/AZCentral)

Given Galchenyuk’s offensive gifts, however, one can’t help but salivate at the potential he could have as a winger alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Both pivots, particularly the former, have made a habit of turning their wingers into studs, and Galchenyuk seems a possible fit alongside Crosby and one who could produce in bunches as a top-line winger if given the chance. It’s undoubtedly the best opportunity of Galchenyuk’s career, and it could be just the fit that finally sees him break out in the way many have expected him to since he was drafted third overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2012.

Despite the situation the Penguins were in with Kessel, too – stuck with a player whom they clearly wanted to separate – Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford did all right. He wasn’t trading from a position of power, but still got some decent pieces. Again, Galchenyuk’s upside is one aspect of this deal, but Joseph is no slouch. The soon-to-be 20-year-old rearguard was ranked 88th overall in The Hockey News’ Future Watch 2019 and he was the third-ranked prospect in Arizona’s system. He is now the only prospect in the Penguins’ system who landed in the top 100 in Future Watch 2019, which is judged by a panel of scouts, and he leapfrogs any blueline prospect Pittsburgh had at its disposal.

The one potential drawback here for the Penguins? Retaining him is no guarantee if Galchenyuk has himself a bang-up season as part of either of Pittsburgh’s top lines. Currently entering the final year of a three-year pact that pays him $4.9-million per season, Galchenyuk is eligible to hit the open market next summer. The Penguins are projected to have plenty of cap space next off-season, about $23-million, but contracts for goaltender Matt Murray as well as considerations that need to be given to current free agents Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese, as well as Jared McCann, Dominik Kahun and Dominik Simon, each of whom are in the last season of their contracts, will eat into that cap space.

Those are worries to be addressed another day, though. For now, the Penguins will be happy to have finally found a new home for Kessel, while the Coyotes will be over the moon about landing a legitimate top-line weapon who turns a popgun offense into one with some genuine firepower.

(All salary cap information via CapFriendly)

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TAGS: ARIZONA COYOTES, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS, TRADES

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Orpik retires after 15 NHL seasons, 2 Stanley Cup titles

By Stephen Whyno
https://sports.yahoo.com/orpik-retires-15-nhl-seasons-2-stanley-cup-140457891--nhl.html
June 25, 2019

Brooks Orpik #44 of the Pittsburgh Penguins knocks Andy Greene #6 of the New Jersey Devils into the boards at Prudential Center on February 5, 2012 in Newark, New Jersey.

(Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America)

Brooks Orpik called it a career Tuesday after 15 bruising NHL seasons in which he established himself as a big-hitting, shutdown defenseman and won the Stanley Cup twice.

The 38-year-old played 1,171 regular-season and playoff games for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. He won the Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009 and Washington in 2018.

''I've been extremely lucky to have the best job in the world for many years, but my body is telling me it is time to move on to something new,'' Orpik said. ''I'm excited for more family time and to experience a lot of the things that being a professional athlete forces you to miss out on.''

Orpik was more known for his physicality and defense than his offense. He put up 194 regular-season and 26 playoff points but also scored the Game 2-winning goal for Washington in the 2018 final on the way to the franchise's first title.

''We wouldn't have a Stanley Cup if it wasn't for him,'' Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby said at the end of this season. ''The impact he's had on our team is probably second to none, the way he's changed the culture and pushed guys to make them better. One of the true leaders in our game.''

Orpik became a respected alternate captain and leader during his four years in Washington. Teammates nicknamed him ''Batya'' - Russian for ''Dad.''

''Batya was a great leader in our locker room and was so important for us to win our first Stanley Cup,'' captain Alex Ovechkin said in a statement Wednesday. ''We will miss his presence in the room and on the ice. Not only was he a great leader and a player, but he was a better person. I'm so happy I had a chance to play with him and for our young guys to have had the chance to learn from him.''

Orpik implied throughout this season it could be his last in the NHL. He had surgery in November to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

''Trying to maintain that level, efficiency was tough,'' Orpik said. ''So I think there were times of the year, I was frustrated just that I couldn't do what I wanted to do.''

Orpik was back to his vintage self in the playoffs, emptying the tank for 18 minutes a night during the Capitals' seven-game series against Carolina. After the first-round exit in late April, the San Francisco native conceded he thought he may have played his final NHL game but didn't want to make a rash decision.

''You got to be 100% committed to it,'' Orpik said of potentially playing another season. ''If you're not, then it's unfair to your teammates and other people that are trying to help you out. In terms of like wanting to play or being committed to play, I think that's something that, I think when stuff doesn't go your way after the season you got to take a lot of time off to let things settle down.''

Orpik came to that decision and will now turn his attention to finishing his communications degree at Boston College. He said he wished he had a better post-playing career plan in place but will see where the degree takes him.

He will be remembered for being the muscle behind two Cup champions - Sidney Crosby's first and Ovechkin's first. He often toed the line on hits and was suspended three games during the 2016 playoffs for a late, high hit that injured Pittsburgh's Olli Maatta.

''He's a little bit of a dinosaur because he hits and there's not a lot of hitting in this game,'' said Columbus coach John Tortorella, who knows Orpik well from U.S. teams in international play. ''A lot of people think he might hit hard. I think he plays the game hard. I think he plays the game the right way.''

Orpik's ability to play on the edge and defend other players made him beloved in Washington. The Capitals prepared for his departure by trading for big-hitting defenseman Radko Gudas, but teammates know there's no replacing Orpik and what he meant on and off the ice.

''He's been a force for all of us to gain knowledge from - how to better understand certain parts of the game, what it takes, the mental side of it,'' Capitals defenseman John Carlson said. ''He's just a really aware person that can help anybody at any part of their career at any level of play. He's just been so important to us.''

---

Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno

Penguins GM Jim Rutherford chosen for Hockey Hall of Fame

By Jonathan Bombulie
https://triblive.com/sports/penguins-gm-jim-rutherford-chosen-for-hockey-hall-of-fame-induction/
June 25, 2019

(Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford turned 70 back in February, but all it took was a phone call Tuesday afternoon to turn him into a teenager sending a text.

“I said, ‘OMG,’ ” Rutherford relayed, describing his reaction when he heard Lanny McDonald and John Davidson were on the other end of a phone call he received as he was driving a few minutes from his home. “I knew when it was them calling.”

McDonald is the chairman of the board of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Davidson is the head of the selection committee. They were telling Rutherford he was a member of the class of 2019, which will be inducted Nov. 18 in Toronto.

“It was probably the most humbling experience that I’ve had in my hockey career,” Rutherford said. “I really didn’t know what to say, and I’m still at the point where I’m really not sure how to put this all in words, but it’s certainly a great honor and an exciting day for me and my family.”

Rutherford and longtime college hockey coach Jerry York will be inducted as builders. Former Penguins defenseman Sergei Zubov will be joined by Guy Carbonneau, Vaclav Nedomansky and Hayley Wickenhesier in the player category.

Rutherford is the fifth Penguins coach or executive inducted as a builder, joining Scotty Bowman, Herb Brooks, Bob Johnson and Craig Patrick.

Zubov, who had 66 points in 64 games in his one season with the team in 1995-96, is the 12th Penguins player so honored, joining Andy Bathgate, Leo Boivin, Paul Coffey, Ron Francis, Tim Horton, Mario Lemieux, Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy, Mark Recchi, Luc Robitaille and Bryan Trottier.

Rutherford said the first memory that popped into his head after receiving the call was his first moment on skates, surrounded by his parents, starting a lifelong journey in the sport.

After he retired from a 14-year playing career as a goalie that included a stop with the Penguins from 1971-74, he met a computer software executive, Peter Karmanos, who would help chart the course of his managerial career.

Karmanos asked him to run a hockey camp for goalies. That led to jobs in youth hockey and the Ontario Hockey League and, eventually, the GM post with the Hartford Whalers.

“I didn’t know how to do anything else,” Rutherford said. “Stick with the game of hockey and do what I know. I love the game, so I wanted to stay in the game.”

The Hall of Fame was the furthest thing from his mind during the early days. The Whalers missed the playoffs his first three seasons at the helm, then moved to Carolina. For their first two years, the Hurricanes played in Greensboro while their arena in Raleigh was under construction.

“It was a struggle,” Rutherford said.

Eventually, the long climb at Karmanos’ side reached its pinnacle when the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2006.

The second act of Rutherford’s career began in 2014 with the Penguins, months after he stepped away from the Hurricanes after 20 years in charge.

“Before I got the call from David Morehouse, I had pretty much made up my mind that I’d put enough time in the game and I was going to retire,” Rutherford said. “But then when I came and I had that meeting with the owners, it was like, ‘Well, this is a great opportunity. I’m pretty sure I can win a championship here.’ ”

He did just that, becoming the second GM to win the Stanley Cup with two different teams. Then he won another, becoming the first GM in the salary cap era to claim back-to-back titles.

In the modern era, only three general managers have won more than his three championships: Sam Pollock (seven), Glen Sather (five) and Bill Torrey (four).

They’re all in the Hall of Fame.

In November, Rutherford will be too.

“I’ve got some good fortune and met a lot of great people and I’ve had the good fortune of having a lot of great players to help me get to the success of winning championships,” Rutherford said, “which ultimately gets you to the hall of fame.”

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jonathan by email atjbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

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Penguins go big with selections at NHL Draft

By Jonathan Bombulie
https://triblive.com/sports/penguins-go-big-with-selections-at-nhl-draft/
June 22, 2019


Samuel Poulin (Canadian Press/AP)

VANCOUVER — A concerted effort? Maybe not.

Head scout Patrik Allvin said the choices the Pittsburgh Penguins made in the NHL Draft this weekend in Vancouver were, in large part, dictated by who the best available athlete was when their turn came around.

Quebec area scout Luc Gauthier said the top three characteristics the Penguins look for in draft picks are still character, speed and skill.

But did a pattern emerge? There’s no question.

Days after the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins finished up a car crash of a Stanley Cup Final, the Penguins used their first three selections to add big bodies to the prospect pool.

Their top two choices, first-rounder Samuel Poulin and third-rounder Nathan Legare, might as well be twins.

They’re power forwards from Quebec with exceptional size, high motors and impressive offensive credentials. They also won’t be winning any speed skating medals.

“If you look at their body types, both are over 200 pounds,” Allvin said. “You gotta work on the quickness a little bit, but there’s no concerns. A couple years here, and I think they’re going to fit perfectly to the style of the Penguins. That’s good.”

It’s a bit of a departure for the Penguins. In 2016, they won the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup championship with a team built on speed. At last year’s draft, the four players they picked, led by 5-foot-10 offensive defenseman Calen Addison, averaged 174 pounds.

It’s also a bit of a gamble for the Penguins. A prospect who can’t keep up with the speed of the modern pro game is bound to bust.

In the case of Poulin and Legare, though, it’s a chance the Penguins are willing to take.

“If you look at the Stanley Cup Final, the way St. Louis played, Boston played, they’re big, they’re strong and they skate,” Gauthier said. “Both of those guys have those qualities. For sure, both need to improve a little bit of their speed and their explosiveness. Right there, we’ll see in the next couple years where they are.”

The similarities between Poulin and Legare go beyond style of play or how they fit into an organizational philosophy.

They’re good friends and have been since they played on the same team, with Poulin’s father, former longtime NHL forward Patrick Poulin, as their coach when they were 7 or 8.

They train together in the summers, working with former Penguins trainer Stephane Dube and former Penguins winger Ramzi Abid.

“It will be very great to train together and to go to Pittsburgh together,” Legare said.

After drafting the power-forward twins with their first two choices, the Penguins took Judd Caulfield from the U.S. National Team Development Program in the fifth round.

He’s even bigger — 6-3, 204 pounds — and also has to answer questions about his skating.

Like Gauthier, he also watched Boston and St. Louis duke it out and liked what he saw.

“I think the teams are probably trying to find a good blend between (size and speed),” Caulfield said. “Watching the Stanley Cup Final this year, there’s a lot of big guys. Really physical series. Hopefully us bigger guys can bring that physicality to the Penguins and help them out in that category.”

Picks aside, it was a quiet weekend for the Penguins.

On Friday night, general manager Jim Rutherford said it’s “highly unlikely” he’ll trade stars Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin this summer. A potential Phil Kessel trade remains stuck in limbo. Even a deal to move out goalie Tristan Jarry, an obvious trade candidate because he’ll have to clear waivers to be sent to Wilkes-Barre in the fall, didn’t materialize.

Rutherford said he expects to make another move or two before training camp opens, so the exact course of the offseason remains cloudy.

The Penguins’ philosophy at this draft, however, was crystal clear.

They went big.

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jonathan by email atjbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

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Penguins trade Olli Maatta to Chicago for forward Dominik Kahun, draft pick

By Jonathan Bombulie

https://triblive.com/sports/penguins-trade-olli-maatta-to-chicago-for-forward-dominik-kahun-draft-pick/

June 15, 2019

Ollie Maatta and Dominik Kahun

Shortly after the Pittsburgh Penguins were swept out of the first round of the playoffs, general manager Jim Rutherford made headlines when he said all options were on the table when it comes to returning the team to championship-contender status.

One of the items on his offseason to-do list wasn’t optional, however. It was mandatory.

He had to move out a defenseman with a sizeable contract, and that trade came to pass Saturday night when he sent Olli Maatta to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Dominik Kahun and a fifth-round draft pick.

“I think we all knew something had to give at that position and cap-wise,” Rutherford said. “That’s what led to making this decision.”

If the Penguins hadn’t moved a defenseman, they would have had nine players on one-way contract at the position and would have been a few million over the projected $83 million salary cap.

Maatta makes a little over $4 million annually on a contract with three years remaining. Kahun makes $925,000 on the last year of his entry-level deal.

That didn’t make the decision to trade Maatta any easier for Rutherford personally. Maatta, the fourth-longest-tenured player on the team, was one of the most affable players in the locker room.

“He’s had success here,” Rutherford said. “He’s been a good player. He’s won two Cups. He’s dealt with adversity. He’s a wonderful person. These last couple of days have been hard on me.”

There are a few reasons Maatta was the odd man out on defense.

First, he slid to the fourth spot on the left side of the team’s depth chart on the blue line by the end of last season. After missing almost six weeks with a shoulder injury late in the year, he was a healthy scratch for the last three games of the playoffs against the Islanders.

Second, he still had trade value. It would be difficult for Rutherford to move a defenseman like Jack Johnson because he’s 32 with four years left on a contract that pays him $3.25 million annually. Maatta, conversely, is 24 with two Stanley Cup rings in his pocket and his best hockey not all that far behind him.

He had enough value to fetch Kahun, a 23-year-old who had 13 goals and 37 points as a rookie last season. Thirty-five of those points came at even strength.

Rutherford said his objective in acquiring Kahun wasn’t necessarily to improve his team’s speed, but it helps. He said he liked the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder’s ability to play all three forward positions up and down the lineup.

“He’s got good speed,” Rutherford said. “He has good hands. He’s a skilled player. Second year, albeit he’s going to have to adjust to a new team, I would suspect he could take an even bigger step. Coming off 13 goals in his first year is a good year for him.”

With the salary-cap situation and defensive logjam straightened away, Rutherford can turn his attention to the rest of his offseason objectives.

He remains intent on trying to improve the roster.

“I haven’t changed my position on what I said at the end of the season,” Rutherford said. “We had a decent regular season. A hundred points is a good mark to get to, but as we all know, we finished with a very disappointing playoffs. If there’s good changes to make, then we’re going to do that.”

He’s just not sure what moves will present themselves.

“Usually, you do have to get creative to make trades now. So we’ll see,” Rutherford said. “There’s been lots of talk since our last game. There’s a lot of things out there. You just don’t know what somebody might come back with, come back with an idea that might help both teams. If one of those comes along, we’ll make another change or two.”

Follow the Pittsburgh Penguins all offseason long.

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jonathan by email atjbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Sports | Penguins

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Devin Bush wants to put Steelers’ ILB job on ‘lock, like his ponytail

By Kevin Gorman
https://triblive.com/sports/kevin-gorman-devin-bush-wants-to-put-steelers-ilb-job-on-lock-like-his-ponytail/
June 13, 2019


(Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers)

Devin Bush has football in his blood and on his brain, as the rookie inside linebacker has impressed the Pittsburgh Steelers with both his athleticism and his ability to absorb the playbook.

But Bush believes it’s also in his hair.

James Conner made waves with his modern-day mullet for the season opener at Cleveland last year – business up front, party in the back – but it was a temporary look for the Steelers running back.

Bush gave a glimpse of his fashion sense at the NFL Draft, where his custom holster-inspired suit stole the show on the red carpet. What caught my eye was his signature hairstyle, a high-top fade in the front with what looks like a braided ponytail in the back.

Bush’s look is here to stay.

“I usually do my own thing and love what I do. I’m OK with the way I look and not afraid to show who I am,” Bush said. “My hair’s been through everything with me, too. I went to high school, college and I accomplished a lot of things with this hairstyle, so I don’t think it’s going to leave me.”

Now, don’t get it misconstrued. Bush doesn’t believe his hair has any superpowers, like Samson’s did. But Bush has off-the-charts athleticism for a 5-foot-11, 235-pounder and the aptitude to sign his NFL rookie contract the morning of organized team activities and call plays in his practice that afternoon.

The Steelers envision Bush becoming the quarterback of their defense and the replacement for Ryan Shazier, and he made positive impressions at their rookie minicamp, OTAs and mandatory minicamp.

“He loves the game. It’s a joy to coach him,” Steelers inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky said. “He’s very talented athletically. He likes it, so he likes to hit people and he knows what the game’s about. I’m real happy to have him.”

Olsavsky also is happy to have Bush and playing his position and wearing his number on the Steelers, even if the former is a nod to his godfather and not his position coach. The No. 10 overall pick has pedigree as son and namesake of a former NFL first-round pick, safety Devin Sr., and the godson of a Hall of Fame linebacker, Derrick Brooks, who also wore No. 55 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“It just goes to show you how blessed I am with the position I’m in,” Bush said. “I don’t take anything for granted. Not many people have a father who played in the NFL and your godfather is a Hall of Famer, so it’s crazy to have those resources at my fingertips and be able to pick up the phone and talk to any of those guys.”

(Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review)

But Bush can thank his mother for the haircut.

Bush was in the seventh grade when he started growing dreadlocks. That was his original look, and he kept them for a decade. That ended in his sophomore year at Michigan, when Kesha Bush chastised her son for his hairstyle.

“My mom was like, ‘You’re on TV and you look a mess and your hair’s not done,’” Bush said, laughing while mimicking her voice Thursday inside the Steelers locker room after the final practice of minicamp at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

The hairstyle, however, was all his idea.

Bush had the dreads cut off – most of them, anyway — before he had an epiphany midway through his haircut. That’s how the remaining dreadlocks are twisted into a thick braid in the back of his head.

“The guy was cutting them off and cutting them off and I looked to my right and saw myself in the mirror,” Bush said. ‘I saw the back and said, ‘That looks pretty cool. Let’s try something.’ We started talking and he started cutting my hair and I said, ‘You don’t have to cut the rest. Just fix my hair in the front.’”

It’s a distinctive look in a city that embraced Santonio Holmes for his dreadlocks and Troy Polamalu for his shoulder-length curls. It’s no coincidence that Bush is embracing both, as the Steelers traded up 10 spots to select him, just as they had moved up in the draft to take Polamalu and Holmes in the first round.

Both were prominent players for Mike Tomlin on the Super Bowl XLIII champions, with Polamalu’s interception sealing the AFC championship and Holmes’ last-minute catch in the corner of the end zone clinching the Lombardi Trophy.

“I’m trying to be just like those guys, to be in the company of them and sit on this pedestal,” Bush said. “It’s my own look. Everybody’s got their own look. Jerome Bettis was The Bus, Troy Polamalu had the hair and the list goes on.

“I’ve got a ponytail.”

A ponytail that he put on ‘lock, and a position he wants to do the same with the Steelers.

That’s a distinctive look, one that would put Devin Bush on a pedestal in Pittsburgh.

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Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email atkgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Sports | Steelers | Kevin Gorman Columns

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