FARGO-The idea began in February when it hit former Moorhead hockey standout and current Pittsburgh Penguins center Matt Cullen. It's something he imagined, but never was able to attach a picture. He got a view what holding the Stanley Cup would feel like with his three sons next to him.
The Penguins were taking on Carolina, which was hosting a 10-year reunion for the 2006 Stanley Cup championship team Cullen was a part of. Cullen was able to take pictures with the Stanley Cup with his sons Brooks, 9, Wyatt, 7, and Joey, 6.
He was unable to do so in 2006, as his wife, Bridget, was pregnant with Brooks.
"We said that day 'Hopefully we could be doing this after the year. It'd be fun to take these pictures for real,'" Cullen said of the reunion. "It was awesome because none of the kids had ever been around it. And here we are on the doorstep. We have a real good chance at it."
Cullen, 39, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are four wins away from Cullen's opportunity to celebrate a title with his boys. He's watched as they've begun to fall in love with the sport that has a big part of his heart. When he's home Cullen wakes up and walks downstairs to find his sons wide awake and ready to show him hockey stats and highlights from the night before.
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"If we can win it, and to be able to do that with the boys, that would just be the absolute ultimate," Cullen said. "It's just so cool having them around in there at an age where they're soaking everything in and loving it and are really into it. I can't imagine anything better than that.
"They're hockey nuts right now. They're into it heavy. They're loving it. They're checking the stats and the scores. It's so fun for me. I love the game and it's been good to me. It warms my heart to see the boys loving it as much."
Whether that moment with his boys and the Stanley Cup on the ice could be enough to call an end to his NHL career, which has already included one Stanley Cup and more than 1,300 games, Cullen isn't sure.
"It might be. I don't know yet," Cullen said. "Nothing really has changed on that front. I haven't really thought about it more or changed my approach on anything. I'm fully into this right now. We'll figure it out afterwards. You definitely think about that idea. Going out on top would be pretty cool. I'm just going to leave that until after the season."
After moving to 5-0 in Game 7s for his career, Cullen got a bit of perspective on his career. He had hundreds of text messages from family, friends and teammates ranging from high school to pros. Many messages came from former teammates on the 2006 Carolina team and from all over Minnesota.
But his favorite thing about Game 7 was watching his sons come into the locker room after and give his teammates high-fives.
"I will say the thing that has made this year the most special is having the boys involved in everything and around it," Cullen said. "It really makes me happy as a dad to bring them in on all of this and have them in the locker room and get to know the guys and see how everything goes. As a dad, that's the best thing I can get for them. That's what's made this season so special for me the most."
Cullen isn't looking at free agency or looking back at how close he was to retiring a year ago. He's looking at Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday, May 30, at 7 p.m. against the San Jose Sharks.
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"It's amazing how things can change," Cullen said. "I feel really blessed to be where I am right now, especially when you consider the fact that I was awfully close to being done. This year was not a certainty by any means. I'm really thankful for this opportunity. Just so happy that it worked out the way it has."
