Matt Cullen’s Adaptability Earned Him a Spot in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

The statistics that everyone cites about Matt Cullen are simple. Cullen played in 1,516 regular-season games — one of only two American-born players to see action in at least 1,500 in the NHL — and he won three Stanley Cups.

Every team wanted Cullen on its roster, but only eight were fortunate enough to have him in its lineup during his 21 seasons in the NHL.

You see, Cullen was one of those players who not only did anything and everything his team asked, but he did so at a level that kept him on the ice and in the middle of the action.

Doug Weight was teammates with Cullen in 2006 when the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. The two also previously played together for the U.S. Men’s National Team in the 2004 IIHF Men’s World Championship, winning a bronze medal.

“He was incredibly focused on being a good player,” Weight recalled. “He was one of those guys that elongated his career just from his work ethic. And the way he evolved his game into being a complete player and focused on some things that could keep him in the league.”

Cullen’s adaptability was a skill that really stood out to Weight.

“He's always been talented enough to play up and down the lineup, very adaptable, whether he was on the wing or center,” he said. “ He was more of a quick scorer early. Then the way he became one of the top (penalty kill) guys, was great in the shootouts, could play on the fourth line as well as the first and be effective and understood the changes from game to game and position to position he had to make.

“To be effective at those roles, coveted at those roles, from different teams was great.”

That versatility and longevity are among the reasons Cullen will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Dec. 4 in Pittsburgh. Joining Cullen in the Class of 2024 is Brianna Decker, the late Frederic McLaughlin, Kevin Stevens and the 2002 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team. Sam Rosen will also be awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy at the ceremony.

There was more to Cullen’s game, though, than just being adaptable. Bill Guerin saw that firsthand as the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins when Cullen had a hand in the club winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.

“He was so critical to those back-to-back Stanley Cups in his presence and his leadership alone,” said Guerin, now the general manager and president of hockey operations for the Minnesota Wild. “You can ask any of the core guys like [Sidney] Crosby, Malk [Evgeni Malkin] how much he meant to that team.”

Cullen, who was selected in the second round of the 1996 NHL Draft by the Anaheim Ducks, played collegiately for St. Cloud State, and quickly became a player his teammates could count on.

“He's a team-first guy,” Guerin said. “He doesn't think about himself. He thinks about what's best for the team and how he can help the team.”

Weight, like Guerin, is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and saw another side of Cullen off the ice.

Weight joined the Hurricanes in ‘06 via a January trade from the St. Louis Blues. While he went to Carolina, Weight’s wife and kids stayed in St. Louis so the children could finish out the school year.

One of the first players to make sure Weight felt somewhat at home in Carolina?

Cullen.

“I kind of got stuck in a hotel,” said Weight, currently a hockey operations advisor with the San Jose Sharks. “So, he would come over or I'd go over to his place and eat some meals and just watch a lot of hockey and hang out

“There's not always something you can put your finger on, but it was just really, really comfortable with Matt. He was just one of those staples that really kept the team together [and] everybody loved. There was nothing he ever said bad about anybody. He just was always in a good mood, working his butt off and he's had the career [he had] because of it.”

Weight had to deal with a new role as he switched teams, going from a first liner with the Blues to the third line with the Hurricanes. Cullen also helped Weight adjust from going from a first liner for the Blues to a third line contributor with the Canes.

“You got to learn how to handle that,” Weight said. “It's not easy. So, credit to him, and he was just good at it. He made the coaches feel good about it. He made the linemates that he played with better. It's an amazing skill, along with everything else that he brought to the table.”

Weight and Guerin both credit Cullen for being a tremendous family man off the ice as well. Cullen and his wife, Bridget, have three hockey-playing sons, and Matt coaches their youngest son, Joey, in the same town he played for in high school – Moorhead, Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Matt is staying involved in the game in other various ways. He is part of the ownership group of the USHL’s Fargo Force and serves in a player development role with the Penguins. He runs the Cullen Force Academy training center and he and Bridget lead the Cullen Children’s Foundation.

“He’s just a complete hockey player,” Guerin concluded. “Being a general manager now, I'd love a Matt Cullen on my team any day.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.