‘Pappy’: Why Matt Cullen Matters to the Penguins

One of the biggest stories surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins’ roster this season, especially when you’re talking about factors that have helped the Penguins cruise into the playoffs and currently take a 2-1 lead in their first round series against the New York Rangers, are the young guys - Conor Sheary, Matt Murray, Bryan Rust, Tom Kuhnhackl, and the other rookies to debut in Pittsburgh. But there’s also credit to be given at the other end of the spectrum - to the team’s veteran players, most notably Matt Cullen.

Cullen, 39, was acquired by the Penguins when he signed a 1-year, $800,000 contract on August 6, 2015. The deal instantly sparked a reaction, with many people questioning why the Penguins would want a veteran center like Cullen when they had so many fresh, young legs. Some even went so far as to ask whether having an old, generally offensive player like Cullen would only slow the Penguins down and be a fourth-line liability to a team in need of more defensive depth and contributions.

Boy, are those doubters eating their words.

Since being signed by the Penguins, Cullen has quickly become one of Pittsburgh’s most valuable assets, both on offense and on defense. One of the biggest advantages with Matt Cullen is that despite being the oldest player on the Penguins’ roster, Cullen also has some of the best speed, and that, combined with good offensive and defensive awareness, has made him one of Pittsburgh’s best penalty killers. On the PK, Cullen has proven to be a huge asset, and his pairing with Eric Fehr usually makes for a pretty formidable penalty-killing duo. This season, Cullen played in all 82 regular season games for the Penguins, and chipped in 16 goals and 16 assists. Those numbers become more significant when you consider that 3 of those goals were shorthanded (Cullen’s three shorthanded goals this season ranked 6th in the league), and 4 of those goals were game-winning.

Looking at the Penguins’ current playoff series with the New York Rangers after the completion of three games, Cullen didn’t have the best first two games of the series, but stepped up big in Game 3. He contributed the game-winning goal after stealing the puck at the Rangers’ blue line and scoring 5-hole on a breakaway against Henrik Lundqvist, and went +2 after going with no points and -1 in both Game 1 and Game 2 of the series. And, of course, he also contributed to the Penguins’ penalty kill, which has gone 11/12 so far this postseason.

But it’s not just the goals and the playmaking and the penalty killing that make Cullen valuable to his team. As a veteran, and the “senior” of the team, he’s also got a special mental effect on his teammates. Called “Cully” by his teammates, he has also earned the endearing nickname “Pappy” from Penguins fans. And if you think about it, that name pretty much sums up Cullen’s role when it comes to the soul of the team - he’s that father figure, the dad of the team.

Take yourselves back to 2009 for a second - the year the Penguins won their third Stanley Cup in franchise history. Remember that one guy named Bill Guerin? Guerin, like Cullen, was the oldest player on the Penguins roster when they won the Cup that year, and he was a super important part of the team not just for making plays, but for being the team’s dad. Especially for the younger players on the team, which back then included Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury, Guerin was somebody to look up to, to learn from, and to depend on to keep the ‘kids’ in check. That’s what ‘Pappy’ is for this year’s team. Malkin said earlier this year that the best advice he could give to rookies is to “listen to veterans”. In 2009, the younger players - even if those players were superstars like Crosby and Malkin - listened to Guerin and learned from a guy with more experience and (since we’re so obsessed with facial hair during NHL playoff time) gray hairs in his beard.

So for this year’s young guns, Cullen’s the senior. Cullen’s got the experience no one else has, and a Stanley Cup to his credit. Cullen’s got an admirable game to learn from. Cullen’s a leader, the stereotypical veteran wearing one of the “A’s” on his jersey designating him an alternate captain. Cullen’s considered by both his teammates and fans to be one of the most important components to the Penguins roster. Head coach Mike Sullivan called Cully an “invaluable part” of the team, in “not just play, (also) presence in locker room and bench. I can’t say enough for his influence on our group, both his play, and even more admiration for his character.” For anyone who followed to 2009 championship team, that description sure sounds a heck of a lot like Billy Guerin. And we all know what happened to a good Penguins team that had Billy Guerin babysitting it. Just ask Lord Stanley.