The Carolina Hurricanes re-signed center Matt Cullen from the New York Rangers on Tuesday with defenseman Andrew Hutchinson plus forward Joe Barnes and a third-round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft going New York’s way.

The Hurricanes really missed Cullen – a central part of their team strategy – after, as a free agent, he reached an agreement with the Rangers a year ago and signed a four-year contract with the New Yorkers.  
Throughout last season Cullen recorded 16 goals and 25 assists playing for the Rangers.

The former Moorhead High School and St. Cloud State star was an exponential figure in Hurricanes’ 2006 Stanley Cup title run. He scored a career-high 25 goals in the 2005-06 season - 4 of them along with 14 assists came in the 25 playoff games.

Cullen’s position at the Rangers was quite unstable after centers Chris Drury from Buffalo and Scott Gomez from New Jersey were brought to the team a few weeks ago.
Adding the fact that the Hurricanes didn’t make to the playoffs mainly because Cullen’s spot wasn’t successfully filled, the move to his previous club seems the natural thing to do.

"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 Hurricanes president and general manager Jim Rutherford. "He is extremely popular in our dressing room and his speed and skill will be important assets going forward."

Matt, the older brother of Philadelphia Flyers player Mark Cullen, stared in 671 career regular-season games for Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers. The Minnesota native scored 118 goals, recorded 203 assists accumulating 321 points.

Cullen is a graduate of Moorhead Senior High School where his father Terry was the high school hockey coach. He played for the St. Cloud State Huskies from 1995-1997 and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team in 1995 and WCHA All-Star in 1996. He was drafted 35th overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.