Matt Cullen
A three-time Stanley Cup champion, Matt Cullen (Moorhead, Minn.) had an extraordinary playing career that included 21 seasons in the NHL with eight different clubs. He is one of just two American-born players ever to compete in 1,500 or more games in the NHL.
Always reliable, Cullen recorded 731 career regular-season points (266 goals, 465 assists) in the NHL, and tallied 58 points (19 goals, 39 assists) in 132 playoff games.
Drafted 35th overall by Anaheim in the 1996 NHL Draft, Cullen spent six seasons with the Ducks to start his NHL journey.
He was traded to the Florida Panthers on Jan. 20, 2003, and played one season with the Panthers before signing with the Carolina Hurricanes as a free agent on Aug. 5, 2004.
Cullen recorded an NHL career-high 25 goals during the regular season for Carolina and contributed 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to help the Hurricanes win the Cup, including two assists in a 3-1 victory in Game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers in the Final.
He signed a four-year contract as a free agent with the New York Rangers before the 2006-07 season, but after one year was traded back to Carolina. He spent two more full seasons with the Hurricanes before he was traded to the Ottawa Senators for the final 21 games of the 2009-10 season.
Cullen returned home to play for the Minnesota Wild, playing three seasons (2010-2013), before joining the Nashville Predators on a two-year contract before the 2013-14 campaign.
The forward joined his eighth NHL team when he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 6, 2015. In 2015-16, he recorded 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) in 82 regular-season games, won 55.7 percent of his face-offs and scored three shorthanded goals. Cullen had six points (four goals, two assists) in 24 playoff games, including two game-winning goals, to help Pittsburgh win the Cup.
In 2016-17, Cullen finished with 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 72 regular-season games, before contributing nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 25 playoff games to help the Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup champions.
He returned to the Wild in 2017-18 and then signed as a free agent with the Penguins for his 21st and final NHL season in 2018-19.
Cullen spent the 2004-05 NHL lockout season competing in Italy with Cortina.
Prior to his professional career, Cullen played two seasons of college hockey at St. Cloud State University and totaled 86 points (27 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games. He was inducted into the St. Cloud State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023, and had his No. 9 jersey retired, becoming just the second Husky to receive the honor.
Matt Cullen on SiriusXM
Cullen represented the United States on the international stage on five occasions, highlighted by helping the U.S. to the bronze medal in the 2004 IIHF Men’s World Championship. He also competed in the Men’s World Championship in 1998, 1999 and 2003 and was a member of Team USA for the 1996 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Always with a passion to help others, Cullen and his wife Bridget founded the Cullen Children's Foundation in 2003, an organization dedicated to financially assisting children's healthcare organizations within the Fargo-Moorhead area.