It is looking like the Penguins won't need to find a new fourth line center. Matt Cullen is likely to return to the team for his 20th NHL season after the 19th one was so good.

Hearing Matt Cullen will return for 20th season after great year in PIT. Jim Rutherford wants to keep him, but Pens are to tight to cap.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 28, 2016

Assuming he keeps his salary in the 800k-1M range this will not pose an issue on the cap at all. Yesterday I computed the Penguins had about 2.9M in cap space and that was with Oskar Sundqvist's 700k factored in. If Matt Cullen is on the team it is probable that Oskar Sundvist will be in the AHL.

Last year Matt Cullen had 16 goals and 32 points in a fourth line role. A fourth line center with a 5v5 points per 60 of 1.7 is a nice luxury to have.

Cullen was also completely buried with defensive zone starts and still managed to swim above the 50% possession barrier which is very impressive. He's the perfect fourth line player and the Penguins agree.

Thanks for reading!

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