For the second time this season, Matt Cullen is back in town.
Cullen was hired by the Penguins in August 2019 in a player development role, a month after he announced his retirement as a player. He primarily works remotely with the Penguins' players from his home in Minnesota, but flies into Pittsburgh every month or so for some hands-on instruction.
Cullen was last in Pittsburgh for about a week in late October. He was back on the ice with the Penguins in Monday's practice in Cranberry, and worked with Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel when they skated on their own before practice. He was again on the ice for the Penguins' optional morning skate on Tuesday prior to the team's 7 p.m. game against the Canadiens, and worked extensively with the Penguins' forwards on faceoffs during the skate.
"It's great having him in town," Mike Sullivan said of Cullen. "I know our players have so much respect for him, he's such an accomplished player himself. He was a real cerebral player, he's a student of the game, I think he can share his experiences with some of our younger players in a lot of different aspects."
The two aspects of the game that Sullivan asked Cullen to focus on while in Pittsburgh are faceoffs and working with Mike Vellucci on the top-ranked penalty kill.
"Part of the game plan was to bring him in monthly to spend time with our guys," Sullivan said of Cullen's role. "He also works remotely with our guys when when he's not here. It's been a really good working relationship, I think, for us. When he is here, I think our players, they gain a lot from him from his experience."
MORE FROM THE SKATE:
• It was an optional skate. The participants were Tristan Jarry, Casey DeSmith, Teddy Blueger, Marcus Pettersson, Zach Aston-Reese, Danton Heinen, Chad Ruhwedel, Kris Letang, Evan Rodrigues, Mike Matheson, Drew O'Connor, Dominik Simon, Mark Friedman, Sam Lafferty, Evgeni Malkin (non-contact)
• Jarry was the first goaltender off the ice.
• Sullivan said that the Penguins all got their COVID booster shots on Oct. 30.
"We did it after a game on like a Saturday night where there was some separation between the next game to provide opportunities to overcome some of the potential side effects of it," Sullivan said.
• Team USA officially named Bill Guerin the general manager of the Olympic team.
"I'm happy for Bill, I think he's very deserving of it," said Sullivan, who is the head coach for Team USA. "My experiences of working with Billy have been very positive. He's a hard-working guy. My experiences working with him here and now on the Olympic team have been great. I know that he'll do a terrific job with respect to putting the best possible team on the ice that gives us the best chance to win a gold medal."
