When last seen in a Penguins uniform, Matt Cullen was soaked in champagne in the visitors' locker room at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. The night was June 11, 2017, and the Penguins had just captured their second straight Stanley Cup championship in a game in which the 40-year-old played more minutes than any Pittsburgh forward. More than Sidney Crosby. More than Evgeni Malkin or Phil Kessel.
Surrounding him, his teammates implored Cullen with chants of "One more year! One more year!"
Thing is, Cullen did come back for one more year. It just wasn't with the Penguins.
After weeks of soul searching last summer, Cullen opted on Aug. 16 to sign a one-year, $1 million contract -- with $700,000 in additional performance incentives -- to play for the Minnesota Wild. On many levels, it made complete sense. At 41 and thought to be at the end of the line, it allowed the Virginia, Minn., native and father of three to stay closer to home and skate off into the sunset.
Well, things can -- and do -- change.
Cullen has no regrets about bolting Pittsburgh, though he admits he still kept tabs on his former team.
“We always kept track," Cullen was saying. "It was a family decision that we made (to sign with Minnesota). For our family, it was the right thing at the time. Hockey-wise, it didn’t play out the way that I had hoped."
Given his age and considering the team he was playing on, 22 points (11 goals) in 79 games for Minnesota was about what could have been reasonably expected.
His advanced metrics, however, fell off compared to recent seasons. In addition to his faceoff win percentage dipping from 51.2 to 50.4, (his lowest in a decade), his Corsi For Percentage plummeted from 48.0 in 2016-17 to a sickly 40.5. That was while taking more offensive zone starts (47.9 percent) than he ever could have dreamed of in his two previous seasons in Pittsburgh (36.0 and 35.8).
For those reasons and others, like being a healthy scratch in December, Cullen wasn't happy with how last season ended. If anything, he says, it's why he was eager to sign on for one more year. With the Wild having been eliminated in the first round, he says he had plenty of time to weigh his decision. He says his body told him that he still has something left in the proverbial tank to play a 21st season.
That it will be with the Penguins and with Jim Rutherford, a general manager he'd played for twice before, only made it a no-brainer.
“We sort of looked at it like we did the first year — as an opportunity that’s too good to pass up," Cullen said. "It’s a special place. We have some great relationships there and a real comfort level with the organization. I’m feeling really motivated. If nothing else, last year served to motivate me even more.”
When you listen to Cullen, you notice the amount of times he says 'we' and 'us' instead of 'I.' The "Dad" moniker that was bestowed on him in the Penguins' dressing room always sounded sort of corny, but do not underestimate the role his, you know, family had on him to return for one more year.
His three sons Brooks, 11, Wyatt, 9, and Joey, 8, practically grew up around the Lemieux Sports Complex. Hell, they were literally home-schooled at the Penguins' practice facility.
“If you look at it a little philosophically, you only live once,” Cullen said. “If you get an opportunity like this, at age 41, with three boys who love the game of hockey and who love what we had in Pittsburgh … my wife (Bridget) is so supportive and so competitive and wants to bring everything back to Pittsburgh. It's a special place.
"They know what a special situation we have in Pittsburgh and what a good fit it is from a hockey standpoint, but also a family standpoint."
He's certainly not pushing his body to its limits to come back for one last paycheck. The Penguins signed him for one year and $650,000, which puts him in the same tax bracket as Chad Ruhwedel and Casey DeSmith.
Off the ice, Cullen's role be will what it has been in the past: A leader, mentor and role model. With Daniel Sprong, Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon expected to contribute to varying degrees in 2018-19, this will be the first time Cullen will work with those youngsters for an extended period. In announcing the signings of Cullen and defenseman Jack Johnson, Rutherford stated that "leadership" and "character" were selling points for both free agents.
"I welcome that and embrace that part of the game," Cullen says.
One question is where he will play. With five centers -- Crosby, Malkin, Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan and Cullen -- for four spots, one will have to play wing. Hint: It won't be Crosby or Malkin. When Rutherford called Cullen before the start of free agency, it was the day after the Penguins had re-signed Sheahan for one year and $2.1 million. Like many, Cullen was caught off guard that Rutherford would be interested in reuniting given the glut of centers.
But Cullen, who has worn many hats over his career, says he's flexible. He's become a faceoff and defensive specialist in later years, but there was a time when he was scoring eight power play goals a season and playing 19 minutes a night.
"It's important to have the versatility in your lineup that you can change things based on matchup or injuries," he says. "I really enjoy that side of it. So if it's left or center or wherever in the lineup, I relish that challenge. That's something I fully expect.
"Depth down the middle is really important and I understand that. But that is what's unique about Jim and the Penguins organization. It's about getting as many good, smart hockey players as you can and building your lineup as deep as you can, and it finds a way to work itself out."
The other question, of course, is if can he still play. Cullen, who will turn 42 on Nov. 2, is the oldest active player in the league, 136 days older than Boston's Zdeno Chara.
His mind is willing, his body too. After a personally rewarding, but professionally trying, season in his native Minnesota, Cullen returns to his adopted home with no shortage of motivation. Will he go out on top? We'll have to stay tuned for that one.
"If I'm going to play, I want to be an effective player," he says. "I want to play at the level I know I can play at."