Barry John Cullen (born August 2, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). His career was halted in 1997 when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He attempted a brief comeback in 1998 after an 18-month battle with the disease, for which the NHL awarded him the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, before retiring to serve as an assistant coach for a year with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Cullen played in two NHL All-Star Games in his career.
Cullen was born in Puslinch, Ontario on August 2, 1964. He idolized his elder brother Terry, who was considered a top NHL prospect until Terry's career was ended when he suffered a broken neck after being hit from behind into the boards during a college game.
While his brother was highly sought by American universities, John received only two scholarship offers, choosing to play for Boston University (BU) in 1983. At the same time, his mother Loretta was diagnosed with skin cancer. Following her death early in his freshman year, Cullen contemplated returning to his Ontario home, but was convinced by his father to continue with both school and hockey. He used the game to cope with the loss and dedicated every game he played to his mother's memory.
Collegiate Career at Boston University
John Cullen was a standout college hockey player for the Boston University Terriers from 1983 to 1987, becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer with 241 points, including 98 goals and 143 assists. His impressive four-year career included being a three-time Hockey East All-Star and a Second Team All-American. He was elected team captain for his senior season in 1986-87, a campaign in which he was named a top ten finalist for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award.
БЫЛ ЧЕМПИОНОМ – СТАЛ БЕЗДОМНЫМ: История гибели карьеры Джо Мёрфи
Cullen was a standout with BU; he was named the East Coast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 1983-84 after leading his team in scoring with 56 points.
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Professional Career
Passed over in the entry draft, Cullen was finally selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1986 NHL supplemental draft. When the Sabres failed to offer him a contract, Cullen signed with the Flint Spirits of the International Hockey League (IHL) for the 1987-88 season. He led the league with 157 points, scoring 48 goals, and won the James Gatschene Memorial Trophy as league most valuable player while sharing the Gary F. Longman Memorial Trophy with Ed Belfour as rookie of the year.
After college, Cullen embarked on a professional career that included ten seasons in the NHL. This performance led to him signing with the Pittsburgh Penguins, with whom he had his most productive years, including a season where he finished with 92 points. Cullen's outstanding season in Flint caught the attention of the Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Cullen made his NHL debut in 1988-89, appearing in 79 games with the Penguins and scoring 49 points. He was given a greater role with the Penguins the following year after Mario Lemieux missed 21 games due to a back injury and responded by scoring 32 goals and 92 points to finish third in team scoring. Additionally, he played for Team Canada at the 1990 World Championship, scoring four points in ten games.
Over his career, he also played for the Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning, accumulating 550 total points in 621 NHL games.
Trade to Hartford Whalers
Cullen had his best season in 1990-91. The Penguins' needs led them to complete a blockbuster trade on March 1, 1991. Cullen was sent to the Hartford Whalers, along with Zarley Zalapski and Jeff Parker in exchange for Hartford's all-time leading scorer, Ron Francis, along with Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings. The Penguins almost turned down the deal as they were concerned about giving up Cullen's playmaking and leadership abilities, while his former teammates credited Cullen as being the primary reason they were in a playoff position at the time the trade happened.
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In Hartford, Cullen worked to overcome the team's fans' disappointment at losing Francis.
Later Career
Midway through the 1992-93 NHL season, the Whalers sent Cullen to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Toronto's second round selection at the 1993 NHL entry draft. Cullen was excited to play for his father's old team, but injuries reduced his ability to perform. His most significant injury was a herniated disc in his neck that doctors initially feared would end his career.
Cullen enjoyed immediate success with linemates Shawn Burr and Alexander Selivanov as the trio combined to score 130 points and helped lead the Lightning to the first playoff appearance in franchise history. They were eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games while Cullen led the team in playoff scoring with three goals and three assists.
Diagnosis and Battle with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
The Lightning looked to improve in 1996-97; Cullen was leading the team in scoring, but was suffering flu-like symptoms that he could not shake. After two months of quietly dealing with his symptoms, Cullen's wife finally called team trainers and asked them to check into his illness. The team took an x-ray and found a large black shadow in his chest. He underwent a CAT scan which revealed Cullen had a baseball-sized tumor; he was diagnosed as having Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The diagnosis ended his season, and he immediately began chemotherapy treatments that quickly reduced his cancer. The tumor was gone by September 1997, but a precautionary test prior to training camp revealed that Cullen still had cancer cells in his body.
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Comeback and Retirement
The Lightning signed Cullen to a one-year, $500,000 contract for the 1998-99 season. He played his first game in nearly 18 months on September 18, 1998, in an exhibition game between the Lightning and Sabres at Innsbruck, Austria. However, a bout of bronchitis led Cullen to fear that his cancer had returned.
Unwilling to spend so much time away from his family, he left the Lightning in 1999 and settled in the Atlanta area, joining his brother's car dealership in Jonesboro, Georgia. He had always expected to become a car dealer after his hockey career, as his father, uncles and brother all worked in the industry. After apprenticing under his brother for five years, he bought a Dodge dealership in Newnan, Georgia in 2007.
Former Lightning head coach Terry Crisp has stated publicly that Cullen was a player that stood out as something special saying "John Cullen ...".
| Achievement | Award |
|---|---|
| IHL Most Valuable Player | James Gatschene Memorial Trophy |
| NHL Comeback after cancer | Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy |
| IHL Rookie of the Year | Gary F. Longman Memorial Trophy |
Personal Life and Legacy
Prior to marrying his wife Valerie, Cullen dated Carolyn Bessette, the future wife of John F. Kennedy Jr. Cullen and his wife Valerie have three daughters, Kennedy and twins Karlyn and Kortland.
Cullen's battle with cancer inspired Timm Harmon of the Moffitt Cancer Centre to partner with the Lightning to raise awareness and money for cancer research.