Cullen, 40, recorded 31 points (13-18=31) in 72 games with Pittsburgh in 2016-17 and won 51.2% of faceoffs taken while averaging 13:55 in TOI/game. He added nine points (2-7=9) in 25 playoff games and won 56.4% of faceoffs taken to help the Penguins win their second consecutive Stanley Cup. This marks Cullen's second tenure with Minnesota as he previously signed as a free agent on July 1, 2010, and collected 101 points (33-68=101) in 193 games during three seasons with the Wild (2010-13) and skated in his 1,000th career NHL game on Jan. 10, 2012.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound native of Virginia, Minn., has totaled 689 points (248-441=689) and 558 penalty minutes (PIM) in 1,366 career NHL games during 19 seasons with Anaheim, Florida, Carolina, the New York Rangers, Ottawa, Minnesota, Nashville and Pittsburgh. Cullen ranks sixth amongst active NHL players in games played, has won over 50% of faceoffs taken in every season since 2003-04, and has scored 10 or more goals in 15 of his 19 campaigns. He has tallied 56 points (18-38=56) in 123 career Stanley Cup Playoff games and won the Stanley Cup three times: in 2006 with Carolina and in 2016 and 2017 with the Penguins.
Cullen played at Moorhead High School before spending two seasons at St. Cloud State (1995-97) and was a Second Team All-WCHA selection in 1997. He has represented the United States at the 1996 World Junior Championship, the 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2004 World Championships and the 2006 Olympics. Cullen was originally selected by Anaheim in the second round (35th overall) of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.
He and his wife, Bridget, founded the Cullen Children's Foundation (
www.cullyskids.com
) in 2003, providing financial resources to organizations that support children's healthcare needs, with an emphasis on cancer.
