Cullen has a treasure trove of all of that.
He started his career as a 20-year-old with the Anaheim Ducks in 1997-98, a second-round pick (No. 35) in the 1996 NHL Draft who thought he could be and should be a top center in the NHL.
He played in 513 games in his first seven seasons, the first 427 with the Ducks and 86 with the Florida Panthers. He was not a No. 1 center. He had 231 points (77 goals, 154 assists), tied for 158th in the League in that seven-season span.
Cullen called the start to his NHL career "seven non-descript seasons."
"You're a young kid and you want to be the best player," Cullen said. "Later in my career I learned to embrace that you have your role, and you have to try to be the best player in the League at your role. That was a good mindset for me to learn and it took a long time.
"When I did that, everything really fell into place."
He joined the Carolina Hurricanes for the 2005-06 season, becoming more of a third-line center. He still scored 25 goals and had 49 points, and delivered 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 25 playoff games, culminating it with his first Stanley Cup championship.
"He was a really smart player," said New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette, who coached that Hurricanes' championship team. "He served so many purposes on the team. Good face-off man. He was on the power play, penalty kill. He could play up the lineup. He generated points."
Mark Recchi played on a line with Cullen at times for Carolina.
"Smart, really smart," Recchi said. "He just played the game the right way. His hockey IQ was terrific. In every zone he was always in the right spot. Whether he was playing center or wing, he knew how to play the game and he was so predictable, and it was so good to play with him because you knew exactly what he was doing."
Recchi was part of Mike Sullivan's coaching staff in Pittsburgh when Cullen was there for the Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017.
"He is a coach's dream," Recchi said. "'Sully' can attest to that. You could play him on the first line or fourth line and he was going to do what it took to win a hockey game. He was going to be a guy who showed up ready to play."
Cullen left the Hurricanes after one season to sign with the New York Rangers on July 1, 2006.
It was soon after he signed with the Rangers that his first son, Brooks, was born.
Brooks is now 18, a senior in high school who is committed to play at Michigan State University.
The Rangers traded Cullen back to the Hurricanes on July 17, 2007. He had 49 points (13 goals, 36 assists) in 59 games in his first season back, 2007-08.
Wyatt, he and wife Bridget's second son, was then before the 2008-09 season. He's now 16 and playing for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program on the U-17 team.
"Matt was not only a great player, but he's a great person as well," Laviolette said. "Wonderful family. Time spent with him for me had a lot of meaning because of the person that he is."
Cullen was traded to the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 12, 2010. His third son, Joey, was born on April 17, but Cullen missed the birth because the Senators had a playoff game, ironically in Pittsburgh, and he couldn't get out in time.
But it was later that year, once he was back home in Moorhead with Bridget, Wyatt, Brooks and Joey that he got the hockey call of a lifetime.
The Minnesota Wild wanted to sign him, and they did, to a three-year contract on July 1, 2010.
"That was the childhood dream coming true," Cullen said. "I remember growing up at night dreaming of playing for the North Stars at that time. To be able to do that and have that experience, I'll never forget [former Wild general manager] Chuck Fletcher calling and being able to sign with the Wild. That was really an unbelievable moment."
For the next three seasons, Cullen played for the Wild and was able to watch his young kids grow up like he did in Minnesota.
"That whole experience, building a backyard rink with them like my dad did with me, just unbelievable," Cullen said. "We had pretty decent teams, but the life and having the boys there and experiencing all that with them that was just the coolest thing ever."
He went on to play for the Nashville Predators from 2013-15, but Cullen went to Pittsburgh as a free agent before the 2015-16 season, and discovered exactly the impact he could have as a veteran player.
"Substantial," Sullivan said. "I know the players on the team had a certain reverence for Matt. He was an accomplished player. He was a top-six guy his whole career and when he was on our Stanley Cup teams he was a fourth-line center, and he just did a lot of the thankless jobs."
Cullen earned the nickname "Dad" from the Penguins players.
"Part of that was his age, but part of it was the influence he had on the group, and, in particular, our star players," Sullivan said. "I looked at him as an extension of our coaching staff. He was a guy that I leaned on a lot."
Including in Game 6 against Nashville.
Cullen went back to Minnesota for a one-year stint in 2017-18 before returning to Pittsburgh for his last season, 2018-19, playing 71 games as a 43-year-old.
He still works for the Penguins as a player development coach. He also has a minority ownership stake in the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League.
But Cullen is a full-time hockey dad now, living back home in Moorhead, where he and Bridget grew up, helping to guide Wyatt's journey to Michigan State, Brooks' to USNTDP, and Joey's through Minnesota bantam hockey.
"It's all I know, all I've ever done, and I love it," Cullen said. "It just really is an enjoyable time in life."
