Penguins add Matt Cullen with 1-year, $800K deal

Matt Cullen has signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on a one-year, $800,000 contract, filling the team’s need for a fourth-line center.

Penguins GM Jim Rutherford had stated since free agency opened on July 1 that he wanted a 4C who could “kill penalties and is good on faceoffs and is good in the room.” He’ll get that in Cullen who can be an asset shorthanded, despite his time-on-ice in that area dropping in the last two years in Nashville. He's also solid in the face-off circle, winning 54-percent and 56.7-percent of his draws in the last two seasons, respectively. And by all accounts, "good in the room."

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Last month, the 38-year old Cullen told Adam Vingan of The Tennessean that he wanted to return for his 18th year in the NHL. He also added that the 2015-16 campaign would likely be his last.

Cullen’s addition fills the Penguins down the middle and leaves them with just over $2 million in cap space, according to General Fanager. His possession numbers were solid last season with the Predators and it’s a safe bet by Rutherford plugging a veteran into that role and allowing 21-year old Oskar Sundqvist more time to develop in the AHL.

After trading for Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino and signing Cullen, Sergei Plotnikov and Eric Fehr, Rutherford is having himself a pretty decent off-season.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

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