Stevens, Cullen return to Pittsburgh for induction to U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame 

PITTSBURGH -- The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame held its induction in Pittsburgh for the first time Wednesday. It was an appropriate place for Kevin Stevens and Matt Cullen, who spent memorable years with the Pittsburgh Penguins and still work for them today.

Stevens began his NHL career in Pittsburgh from 1988-95. The power forward had his best seasons here, winning the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992. He had a career-high 123 points (54 goals, 69 assists) in 1991-92 and 111 points (55 goals, 56 assists) in 1992-93.

After stints in Boston, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia between 1995-2001, he rejoined the Penguins during the 2000-01 season and finished with them in 2001-02.

Although he lives in the Boston area, he said Pittsburgh is “kind of like home.”

“Just being here in Pittsburgh, having this event here, it meant a lot too, because it kind of brings back [that] this is where it kind of all happened for me,” he said. “It’s just nice to be back here. I love Pittsburgh. I feel comfortable here, and it’s a place that I always loved. I want to see them do well now.

“When I was here, it was amazing because the people are great here, the organization is great. It never really changes. The people change, but the perspective here is that we always want to win.”

Stevens works for the Penguins as a special assignment scout and said he returns to Pittsburgh a couple of times a month. Still, this event helped him reconnect with some old teammates. He spoke to Mark Recchi and Rick Tocchet recently. Mario Lemieux, Jay Caufield and Phil Bourque were among those who attended the ceremony.

“We had a great group of guys,” Stevens said. “Even if you don’t see those guys for years, when you see them, it takes five minutes and it seems like you’re right back where you were.”

Cullen spent three of his last four seasons in Pittsburgh, winning the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017, playing for the Minnesota Wild in 2017-18, and then finishing with the Penguins in 2018-19.

In the summer of 2015, the center was 38 years old and thought he was done after 17 NHL seasons. But he received a call from Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, under whom he won the Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.

“We treated it like a gift a little bit, the time here, and so everything was a little bit unexpected, and it went better than we ever could have imagined,” he said. “So, it was fun. I mean, they were some fantastic years. Our kids grew up right here. It just felt like home, so we enjoyed it.”

Cullen works for the Penguins as a player development coach but does a lot via video from home in Moorhead, Minnesota.

This gave him a chance to reconnect with old teammates like Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Chris Kunitz, and return to Pittsburgh with his three sons: Brooks, 18, who is committed to play hockey at Michigan State; Wyatt, 16, who plays for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan; and Joey, 14.

“It adds so much to it,” Cullen said. “It’s fun coming back here and coming through town, thinking through the parade routes and just, like, the fun experiences we had here. It’s great to be back. It really has brought back a lot of memories and I know the boys have really enjoyed it, too. It’s been a fun experience for our whole family.”

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan called it an incredible moment for Stevens and Cullen.

“[Stevens] is arguably one of the best power forwards of his generation,” Sullivan said. “He was such a big part of the two Stanley Cups when they won in the early ’90s. [Cullen] with this most recent back-to-back Stanley Cup group, all you guys know the contributions and the influence that he had on the Penguins and our ability to have success on those Stanley Cup teams.

“So, I think it's a great moment for them. I couldn't be happier for either one of them. They're both great people, and they're so deserving of this accolade with their body of work in the League and what they represent, and what they accomplished. But in Pittsburgh, in particular, and what they mean to the city of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Penguins, I think it's so appropriate that the ceremony is here in Pittsburgh."

NHL.com independent correspondent Wes Crosby contributed