As of 2024[update], Cullen is one of 21 players to play over 1,500 NHL games and the only one of the group to never be named an All-Star. He is also one of two players American-born players to play in at least 1,500 NHL games.
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.
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 the 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.[2] After just one season with the Rangers, Cullen was traded back to the Hurricanes during the 2007 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.[3]
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.[5] 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.[6]
On August 6, 2015, Cullen signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins,[7] reuniting him with former Hurricanes' general manager Jim Rutherford, with whom he won a Stanley Cup in 2006. Cullen won his second Stanley Cup when the Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks in six games in the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals. On August 17, 2016, Cullen signed a second one-year deal with the Penguins.[8] In June 2017, Cullen won his second consecutive Stanley Cup with the Penguins when they defeated the Nashville Predators in six games in the Stanley Cup Finals.[9]
On August 16, 2017, after winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Penguins, Cullen signed a one-year contract to return to the Minnesota Wild.[10] After Jaromír Jágr was placed on waivers by the Calgary Flames that season, Cullen became the oldest active player in the NHL at 41.[11]
On July 1, 2018, Cullen returned to the Penguins, signing a one-year contract.[12]
On July 10, 2019, after completing 21 seasons in the NHL, Cullen announced his retirement.[13] Upon his retirement, Cullen was one of two American-born NHL players to play in at least 1,500 games.[14]
After retiring from the NHL in 2019, Cullen became a player development coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He saw his first action as an NHL bench coach in February 2022, when filling in for the injured Todd Reirden.[15]
Cullen is a member of a well-known hockey playing family, originating from Ontario. He is the older brother of Mark Cullen and Joe Cullen, who also played hockey professionally. Cullen and his wife have three sons, and they reside in Moorhead, Minnesota, during the off-season.[18] Cullen is a Christian.[19]
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.[20]
In 2020, Cullen bought in on the Fargo Force Hockey Academy and changed the name to the Cullen Force Academy upon his buy in.[21]
