Matt Cullen PIT lifting Stanley Cup

Matt Cullen was 40 years old when he suited up for the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. That was his 97th game of the season, his 25th in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"He led our forwards in ice time that night," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby told NHL.com.

Truth.

On June 11, 2017, Cullen, less than five months shy of his 41st birthday, skated the third most minutes of all 18 Pittsburgh skaters, 19:42 to be exact, in a 2-0 win against the Nashville Predators that ended with the Penguins lifting the Stanley Cup for the second straight season.

Cullen, in his 122nd career NHL playoff game, played 2:25 more than Crosby, 3:42 more than Jake Guentzel, 4:38 more than Evgeni Malkin, 5:26 more than Phil Kessel.

He was in the middle of the play that led Patric Hornqvist's goal that made it 1-0 with 1:35 remaining in the third period. He won 10 of 18 face-offs (55.6 percent).

"Just a really smart player, incredible leader," Crosby said. "Just an incredible guy."

It's for those reasons described by Crosby coupled with his longevity and success in the NHL -- 21 seasons, 1,516 regular season games played and 132 more in the playoffs, three Stanley Cup championships -- and everything he brought to each team played for, including 731 regular season points (266 goals, 465 assists) and 58 in the playoffs (19 goals, 39 assists), that the Moorhead, Minnesota native will be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame with the Class of 2024 on Dec. 4 in Pittsburgh.

"You never play for recognition or anything like that, but looking back on your career it's a really cool feeling being honored," Cullen said. "It's one of those things you don't really ever plan for or expect, but it's gratifying. It's nice to be acknowledged but probably for me the best part is thinking back. You end your career, and life gets going and with kids things get busy. It's been super fun to reflect back on all of it; the memories, the friendships, the experiences. That's been the best part."

Matt Cullen joins NHL Tonight to talk about his favorite player and more

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."

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