While Matt Cullen will be coming home, having signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Wild, deciding to leave the Pittsburgh Penguins was far from easy.
The 40-year-old opted to against chasing a third straight Stanley Cup with the Penguins, and Cullen admitted Wednesday it was difficult to call Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford with the news because he owes him a lot, according to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.
In the end Cullen insists it was a family decision, but it was still diffcult.
"It was not an easy decision. Minnesota is home and a special place for me," Cullen said. "It's not easy to say goodbye."
Cullen said it wasn't easy calling Sidney Crosby and Mike Sullivan
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) August 16, 2017
That said, Cullen is excited to re-join Eric Staal - with whom he won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 - per Russo.
Going into his 20th NHL season, Cullen expects the 2017-18 campaign to be his last, but joked that he says that before every season.
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