Hurricanes Acquire Matt Cullen
 

RALEIGH, NC—Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has acquired center Matt Cullen from the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, forward Joe Barnes and a third round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

“Matt was an important member of our championship team in 2006 and we obviously know he is an excellent fit for our style of play,” said Rutherford. “He is extremely popular in our dressing room and his speed and skill will be important assets going forward.”

Cullen, 30, ranked sixth among Rangers skaters in scoring in 2006-07, with 16 goals and 25 assists (41 points) in 80 games. The Virginia, Minn., native was tied for the team lead in shorthanded goals with three, which established a new career-high. He also set career-highs in penalty minutes (52) and shots on goal (217) in 2006-07. Cullen (6’1’’, 200 lbs.) had one goal and three assists (4 points) in 10 Stanley Cup playoff games for the Rangers.

In 671 career NHL games with Anaheim, Florida, Carolina and the Rangers, Cullen has registered 118 goals and 203 assists for 321 points. He established career highs in goals (25) and points (49) in 2005-06 with Carolina, ranking sixth on the team in goals and third in shots (214). Cullen had four goals and 14 assists (18 points) while playing in all 25 postseason contests for the Hurricanes to help the team capture the Stanley Cup. He ranked fourth in the NHL in playoff assists in 2006, including a pair of helpers in the clinching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against Edmonton. Cullen, Anaheim’s second round (35th overall) selection in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, will begin 2007-08 in the second year of a four-year contract.

Hutchinson had three goals and 11 assists (14) points and 30 penalty minutes for Carolina in 2006-07. Barnes, a third round selection of the Hurricanes in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, played 15 games for Albany of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2006-07, totaling two goals and one assist (3 points).

The good news: Cap Room

The Bad News: We weakened our strongest position and now we're probably gonna sign the useless Euro Hossa.

I think it's great to see Cullen back where he had his best year/s in his playing career. The Hurricanes realized it afterwards how important he really was to their team and he wasn't really as respected as player in New York anyways.

cullen is solid but not worth 3 million a year. good deal to save cap space, lets see if barnes can overcome his injury issues.

I liked Cullen. I don't know if I 3 million dollars liked him though. Betts better not be 3rd line center.

Cullen will be back on the Canes? He was gonna probably get the money somewhere.

Agree about Betts. Gotta hope one of the kids steps up to take the 3rd line slot! A salary dump for sure!

I agree with everyone here. Cullen is for sure a fan favorite and a pretty good player in his own right but I've said before so it wouldn't hurt to say it one more time: $3 million for him is outrageous. Getting Hutchinson along with Barnes, who is a pretty solid player aside from the injuries, I'd say the Rags won this.

Never fit in with the Rangers. He also never really got the ice time that I thought he deserved their. Better fit with the Hurricanes and their more up tempo style offense. Cullens a top 6 forward in today's NHL IMO. Another case of a player leaving a team and style of play that best suits them for greener pastures.

He may go back to his old form on Carolina. I never thought he totally fit with the Rangers last year. They needed to shed salary and they did just that. I'm not sure what they're gonna get out of Hutchinson though.

edit - got the info below

"After earning $3.1 million in 2006-07, he is scheduled to receive $2.8 million in each of the next three seasons for an annual cap hit of $2.88 million."


the Rangers have to STOKED how that one turned out.

In my opinion I'm not a huge fan of this trade for the Hurricanes. Matt Cullen is a decent player, but no way is he worth $3 million per year. He's a freakin 3rd-liner that will only put up 15 goals a season. I'm glad my team didn't pick this guy up. He's useless and he's way overpaid. I don't think the guy will do anything productive for the 'Canes.

Matt Cullen is not useless. He wasn't a fit in New York, and I expect him to have a bounce-back year this year. He's back on the Canes where he played the best in his career. I agree he's not worth $3 million, but in no way is he useless.

I'm sorry but the Carolina front office could be one of the worst in the league. They lose Cullen last year to FA and they overpay (with both money and players to get him back) like he's the missing piece to their stanley cup puzzle again?

Needless to say the trade they made pre-season last year unloading Johnson showed signs of brilliance as well