Matt Cullen is coming off his third Stanley Cup win over his twenty year career, and recently brought the cup back to his home state for the second straight summer. Fans of the Minnesota Wild are hoping he’ll bring it back for a third straight year – this time as a member of the Wild – after the 40-year signed one-year contract with the team worth $700,000 in what will be his 21st season in the NHL.
Cullen won the cup with Carolina back in 2006 before winning back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The consensus following the Pens second straight cup win in June was that the native of Virginia, Minnesota would hang up his skates after a very successful career.
Even though he’s been fortunate to have lifted Lord Stanley’s mug two times before, his wife’s 97-year-old grandmother may've not been able to see it, and based off her reaction, she was absolutely stoked.
Cullen spent his special day with the cup in the towns of Moorhead, Minnesota and the neighbouring Fargo, North Dakota where he stopped with the cup at a baseball game, Dairy Queen and a local hospital.
The town of Moorhead – where he and wife went to high school together – announced that they’d celebrate Matt Cullen day with an official proclamation for his generous donations and efforts in supporting the community.
Sharing a championship trophy with your family members has to be one of the most satisfying things an athlete can experience in their professional careers. Mothers, fathers, siblings, wives and grandparents play such a pivotal role in any athletes life. Transportation, nutrition, guidance, and moral support are some of the many things that help out in making sure that athlete is ready to perform at the highest level of competition. You can bet that the Cullen family was incredibly happy to share the noteworthy day with his close ones.
(h/t to Reddit Hockey)
