Matt Cullen was with the Carolina Hurricanes when they won the Stanley Cup back in 2006, but as amazing an experience as that was for him, to lift the Stanley Cup at the age of 39 would be even better.
“To be able to share that with my boys at an age where they’re old enough to remember it and they know what’s going on, you think you could never add more to a Stanley Cup, but it adds a lot more to it. It makes it so much more special for me,” Cullen explained to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Cullen has been a staple of the Penguins’ fourth line throughout the playoffs and while that’s not a glamorous job, he’s played his part in getting Pittsburgh this far. He agreed to a one-year, $800K contract last summer, reuniting him with Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, who was also the general manager of the 2006 Hurricanes. In addition to helping solidify the Penguins’ bottom-six, he can also provide some veteran guidance.
Given his age, it’s entirely possible that if the Penguins win this year he’ll take that opportunity to end his career on a high note. But of course, first they have to win one more game.