Matt Cullen

Matt Cullen
Born (1976-11-02) November 2, 1976
Virginia, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Pittsburgh Penguins
Anaheim Ducks
Florida Panthers
Carolina Hurricanes
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
National team  United States
NHL Draft 35th overall, 1996
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Playing career 1997–present

Matthew David Cullen (born November 2, 1976) is an American professional ice hockey center playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League (NHL). Cullen was born in Virginia, Minnesota, but grew up in Moorhead, Minnesota. Matt attended Moorhead Senior High School, where his father Terry Cullen was the varsity hockey coach.

Playing career

Cullen graduated from Moorhead High School in 1995; his father, Terry Cullen, was the school's Varsity ice hockey coach. During his time at Moorhead High, Cullen led Moorhead to three state tourney appearances and two runner-up finishes. He was an all-state tourney selection three years, and was a Mr. Hockey finalist in 1995, when he was named the state’s Player of the Year by the Associated Press after scoring 47 goals and adding 42 assists in 28 games.

Cullen played at St. Cloud State University from 1995 to 1997, and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team in 1995 and WCHA All-Star in 1996. He was then drafted in the second round, 35th overall, by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.

Cullen in the Stanley Cup parade with the Hurricanes.

Cullen played 5 1/2 seasons with Anaheim before becoming a Florida Panther in 2003. He also played on four World Championship teams and was a 2004 bronze medalist on Team USA.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Cullen played in the Italian Serie A with SG Cortina, where he led the league in scoring with 27 goals and 33 assists in 36 games.

In the 2005–06 season, after NHL play resumed, Cullen won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes. After the season, he became an unrestricted free agent and subsequently signed a four-year contract with the New York Rangers. After just one season with the Rangers, however, Cullen was traded back to Carolina during the 2006–07 off-season in exchange for defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, forward Joe Barnes and a third-round draft pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in the Rangers' attempt to free-up salary space underneath the cap.[1]

On February 22, 2009, Cullen scored the first hat-trick of his career in a game against the Colorado Avalanche. On February 12, 2010, he was traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Alexandre Picard and a second-round draft pick

On July 1, 2010, Cullen returned to his home state when he signed a three-year deal as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild.[2]

Upon the expiration of his three-year contract with the Wild, and with the team facing salary cap constraints, Cullen departed as a free agent and signed a two-year contract with the Nashville Predators on July 5, 2013.[3]

On August 6, 2015, Cullen signed a 1-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, reuniting him with former Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford, with whom he won a Stanley Cup in 2006. Then as Rutherford as GM, Matt Cullen won his second Stanley Cup on June 12, 2016 [4]

On August 17, 2016, Cullen re-signed a one-year deal with the Penguins which would be Cullen's last season and second with the Penguins.[5]

Personal

Cullen is the older brother of EC Red Bull Salzburg player Mark Cullen, as well as of Braehead Clan player Joe Cullen. Matt Cullen has a wife and three sons. Cullen is a Christian and currently resides in West Fargo, North Dakota, in the off-season with his family.[6]

Cullen founded the "Cullen Children's Foundation", also known as "Cully's Kids", in 2003. The foundation provides financial resources to organizations that support children's healthcare needs with an emphasis on cancer.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1995–96 St. Cloud State WCHA 39 12 29 41 28 — — — — —
1996–97 St. Cloud State WCHA 36 15 30 45 70 — — — — —
1996–97 Baltimore Bandits AHL 6 3 3 6 7 3 0 2 2 0
1997–98 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 18 15 12 27 2 — — — — —
1997–98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 61 6 21 27 23 — — — — —
1998–99 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 3 1 2 3 8 — — — — —
1998–99 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 75 11 14 25 47 4 0 0 0 0
1999–00 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 80 13 26 39 24 — — — — —
2000–01 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 82 10 30 40 38 — — — — —
2001–02 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 79 18 30 48 24 — — — — —
2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 50 7 14 21 12 — — — — —
2002–03 Florida Panthers NHL 30 6 6 12 22 — — — — —
2003–04 Florida Panthers NHL 56 6 13 19 24 — — — — —
2004–05 SG Cortina ITL 36 27 33 60 64 — — — — —
2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 78 25 24 49 40 25 4 14 18 12
2006–07 New York Rangers NHL 80 16 25 41 50 10 1 3 4 6
2007–08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 59 13 36 49 32 — — — — —
2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 69 22 21 43 20 18 3 3 6 14
2009–10 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 60 12 28 40 26 — — — — —
2009–10 Ottawa Senators NHL 21 4 4 8 8 6 3 5 8 0
2010–11 Minnesota Wild NHL 78 12 27 39 34 — — — — —
2011–12 Minnesota Wild NHL 73 14 21 35 24 — — — — —
2012–13 Minnesota Wild NHL 42 7 20 27 10 5 0 3 3 2
2013–14 Nashville Predators NHL 77 10 29 39 32 — — — — —
2014–15 Nashville Predators NHL 62 7 18 25 16 6 1 1 2 4
2015–16 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 81 16 16 32 20 24 4 2 6 8 -
NHL totals 1,303 237 428 665 528 98 16 31 47 46

International
Medal record
Representing  United States
World Championships
2004 Prague
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1996 United States WJC 5th 6 3 1 4 0
1998 United States WC 12th 6 2 1 3 0
1999 United States WC 6th 6 1 6 7 4
2003 United States WC 13th 6 1 1 2 2
2004 United States WC 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 9 2 4 6 4
Junior totals 6 3 1 4 0
Senior totals 27 6 12 18 10

Awards and honors

Award Year
College
All-WCHA Rookie Team 1996
All-WCHA Second Team 1997
NHL
Stanley Cup (Carolina Hurricanes) 2006
Stanley Cup (Pittsburgh Penguins) 2016 [7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cullen returns to Carolina; Rangers gain Hutchinson, Barnes". ESPN. 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  2. ↑ "Cullen comes home". Minnesota Wild. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  3. ↑ "Nashville Predators sign Matt Cullen to a two-year contract". Nashville Predators. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  4. ↑ "Penguins sign Matt Cullen to 1-year deal". Pittsburgh Penguins. 2015-08-06. Retrieved 2015-08-06.
  5. ↑ "Penguins Re-Sign Forward Matt Cullen to a One-Year Contract". Pittsburgh Penguins. 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  6. ↑ "NHL Champion Checks Fear of Failure".
  7. ↑ "Penguins win Stanley Cup, defeat Sharks in Game 6". National Hockey League. 2016-06-12. Retrieved 2016-06-12.

External links

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