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Matt Cullen

#7 · Centre · Pittsburgh Penguins

Born Nov 2, 1976 in Virginia, Minnesota, USA · 6'1", 202 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 35th overall in 1996 by ANA (round 2)

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Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2016-17. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Alexandre Burrows OTT · 31 P in 75 GP Ryan Hartman CHI · 31 P in 76 GP Andrew Ladd NYI · 31 P in 78 GP Calle Jarnkrok NSH · 31 P in 81 GP Michael Cammalleri NJD · 31 P in 61 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

0102030401997-98: 27 points2797-981998-99: 25 points251999-00: 39 points3999-002000-01: 40 points402001-02: 48 points4801-022002-03: 33 points332003-04: 19 points1903-042005-06: 49 points492006-07: 41 points4106-072007-08: 49 points492008-09: 43 points4308-092009-10: 48 points482010-11: 39 points3910-112011-12: 35 points352012-13: 27 points2712-132013-14: 39 points392014-15: 25 points2514-152015-16: 32 points322016-17: 31 points3116-172017-18: 22 points222018-19: 20 points2018-19

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
1997-98 ANA 61 6 21 27 -4 23 75 39 0.44
1998-99 ANA 75 11 14 25 -12 47 112 41 0.33
1999-00 ANA 80 13 26 39 5 24 137 74 0.49
2000-01 ANA 82 10 30 40 -23 38 159 49 0.49
2001-02 ANA 79 18 30 48 -1 24 164 57 0.61
2002-03 ANA 50 7 14 21 -4 12 77 0 0.42
2002-03 FLA 30 6 6 12 -4 22 54 12 0.40
2003-04 FLA 56 6 13 19 -2 24 75 37 0.34
2005-06 CAR 78 25 24 49 4 40 214 26 0.63
2006-07 NYR 80 16 25 41 0 52 217 61 0.51 $2.875M
2007-08 CAR 59 13 36 49 2 32 137 33 0.83 $2.875M
2008-09 CAR 69 22 21 43 11 20 139 41 0.62 $2.875M
2009-10 CAR 60 12 28 40 0 26 137 63 0.67 $2.875M
2009-10 OTT 21 4 4 8 -7 8 58 12 0.38
2010-11 MIN 78 12 27 39 -14 34 150 39 0.50 $3.5M
2011-12 MIN 73 14 21 35 -10 24 164 46 0.48 $3.5M
2012-13 MIN 42 7 20 27 9 10 79 18 0.64 $3.5M
2013-14 NSH 77 10 29 39 4 32 134 18 0.51 $3.5M
2014-15 NSH 62 7 18 25 8 16 90 10 0.40 $3.5M
2015-16 PIT 82 16 16 32 5 20 118 40 0.39 $800K
2016-17 PIT 72 13 18 31 4 30 93 36 0.43 $1M
2017-18 MIN 79 11 11 22 -1 20 104 14 0.28 $1M
2018-19 PIT 71 7 13 20 6 14 87 32 0.28 $650K
21 seasons Career 1516 266 465 731 -24 592 2774 798 0.48

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
1998-99 ANA 4 0 0 0 -2 0 6 7 0.00
2005-06 CAR 25 4 14 18 2 12 56 27 0.72
2006-07 NYR 10 1 3 4 -2 6 23 9 0.40
2008-09 CAR 18 3 3 6 0 14 29 16 0.33
2009-10 OTT 6 3 5 8 -3 0 14 6 1.33
2012-13 MIN 5 0 3 3 1 2 8 3 0.60
2014-15 NSH 6 1 1 2 -1 4 11 6 0.33
2015-16 PIT 24 4 2 6 3 8 25 25 0.25
2016-17 PIT 25 2 7 9 -1 24 22 20 0.36
2017-18 MIN 5 1 1 2 -3 2 4 3 0.40
2018-19 PIT 4 0 0 0 -1 0 3 6 0.00
11 seasons Playoffs 132 19 39 58 -7 72 201 128 0.44

2016-17 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
72 13 18 31 4 30 93 36 0.43 14.0 13:55

Contract

$1MCap hit2016-17
$32KCap dollars per point31 points in 72 games
$357KCap dollars per goal above replacement2.8 goals above replacement
$2.4MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$1.4MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 664 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. When it ends is not known.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2018-19 to 2018-19 $650K
2016-17 to 2017-18 $1M
2015-16 to 2015-16 $800K
2012-13 to 2014-15 $3.5M
2010-11 to 2012-13 $3.5M
2006-07 to 2009-10 $2.875M

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2016-17 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2016-17 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+2.8Goals above replacement311th of 664 skaters, 220th of 435 forwards
+0.5Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.0Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 435 ranked forwards: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence+0.1 55th percentileEven-strength defence-0.1 46th percentilePower play+0.4 79th percentilePenalty kill-0.7 6th percentilePenalties+0.3 50th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-2024682010-112012-132014-152016-172018-19Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

47.9Corsi for %661 attempts for, 719 against
-3.3CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.1Expected goals for %32.6 expected for, 29.9 against
-1.7xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
49.5Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
47.5Goals for %29 for, 32 against
99.3PDO7.9% shooting + 91.4% saves
118Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 565 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Matt Cullen · Eric Fehr · Tom Kuhnhackl20132:2447.157.45-2
Matt Cullen · Eric Fehr · Scott Wilson23105:0439.941.42-4
Matt Cullen · Tom Kuhnhackl · Scott Wilson1259:2751.058.33-3
Matt Cullen · Phil Kessel · Nick Bonino1147:0344.258.11-2

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

12Goalsnot counting empty-netters
13.6Expected goalsfrom 126 unblocked attempts
-1.6Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.82 expected goals per 60 minutes71st
Shot quality 10.8% chance per attempt99th
Finishing -1.6 goals above expected36thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 421 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0510Game 20Game 40Game 60Expected 13.6Goals 12

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 8, 2017 @ TOR L 3-5 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 14:34
Apr 6, 2017 @ NJD W 7-4 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 15:30
Apr 4, 2017 vs CBJ W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 09:55
Apr 2, 2017 vs CAR W 3-2 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 13:08
Mar 31, 2017 @ NYR W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17:55
Mar 29, 2017 vs CHI L 1-5 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 14:26
Mar 26, 2017 vs PHI L 2-6 1 0 1 -3 0 3 1 18:00
Mar 24, 2017 vs NYI L 3-4 (SO) 1 1 2 1 0 3 0 18:28
Mar 23, 2017 @ OTT L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 14:28
Mar 21, 2017 @ BUF W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 18:29
Mar 19, 2017 vs FLA W 4-0 0 1 1 1 4 1 0 14:27
Mar 17, 2017 vs NJD W 6-4 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 14:31
Mar 15, 2017 @ PHI L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 15:15
Mar 8, 2017 @ WPG W 7-4 0 0 0 -3 2 2 1 12:59
Mar 5, 2017 vs BUF W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 16:11
Mar 3, 2017 vs TBL W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 12:11
Mar 1, 2017 @ CHI L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 16:26
Feb 28, 2017 @ DAL L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 11:21
Feb 25, 2017 vs PHI W 4-2 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 14:26
Feb 21, 2017 @ CAR W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 12:57
Feb 19, 2017 vs DET L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:46
Feb 17, 2017 @ CBJ L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 13:17
Feb 16, 2017 vs WPG W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 5 2 16:35
Feb 14, 2017 vs VAN W 4-0 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 15:29
Feb 11, 2017 @ ARI L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16:59
Feb 9, 2017 @ COL W 4-1 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 16:27
Feb 7, 2017 vs CGY L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 16:12
Feb 4, 2017 @ STL W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15:03
Feb 3, 2017 vs CBJ W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 13:04
Jan 16, 2017 vs WSH W 8-7 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 1 0 11:54
Jan 14, 2017 @ DET L 3-6 1 0 1 -2 2 2 1 11:09
Jan 12, 2017 @ OTT L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10:11
Jan 11, 2017 @ WSH L 2-5 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 11:46
Jan 8, 2017 vs TBL W 6-2 0 2 2 2 0 1 0 10:48
Dec 31, 2016 vs MTL W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:10
Dec 28, 2016 vs CAR W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11:48
Dec 27, 2016 @ NJD W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 13:44
Dec 23, 2016 vs NJD W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 10:51
Dec 22, 2016 @ CBJ L 1-7 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 11:41
Dec 20, 2016 vs NYR W 7-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:56
Dec 17, 2016 @ TOR L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 14:18
Dec 16, 2016 vs LAK L 0-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 11:29
Dec 14, 2016 vs BOS W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 11:50
Dec 12, 2016 vs ARI W 7-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 14:19
Dec 10, 2016 @ TBL W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14:51
Dec 8, 2016 @ FLA W 5-1 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 13:44
Dec 5, 2016 vs OTT W 8-5 1 0 1 0 2 1 1 12:03
Dec 3, 2016 vs DET W 5-3 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 10:42
Dec 1, 2016 vs DAL W 6-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 15:33
Nov 30, 2016 @ NYI L 3-5 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 12:50
Nov 26, 2016 vs NJD W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 15:44
Nov 25, 2016 @ MIN L 2-6 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 10:51
Nov 23, 2016 @ NYR W 6-1 1 0 1 1 0 2 2 14:50
Nov 21, 2016 vs NYR L 2-5 0 0 0 -3 0 4 0 12:27
Nov 19, 2016 @ BUF L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 15:22
Nov 18, 2016 @ NYI W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 11:16
Nov 16, 2016 @ WSH L 1-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14:08
Nov 12, 2016 vs TOR W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12:41
Nov 10, 2016 vs MIN L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 09:01
Nov 8, 2016 vs EDM W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 12:15
Nov 5, 2016 @ SJS W 5-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 11:47
Nov 3, 2016 @ LAK L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 11:04
Nov 2, 2016 @ ANA W 5-1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 11:23
Oct 29, 2016 @ PHI W 5-4 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 12:56
Oct 27, 2016 vs NYI W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 14:31
Oct 25, 2016 vs FLA W 3-2 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 13:31
Oct 22, 2016 @ NSH L 1-5 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 16:52
Oct 20, 2016 vs SJS W 3-2 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 17:32
Oct 18, 2016 @ MTL L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 19:32
Oct 17, 2016 vs COL L 3-4 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 4 1 15:23
Oct 15, 2016 vs ANA W 3-2 0 1 1 0 0 3 1 17:58
Oct 13, 2016 vs WSH W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 18:58