Cullen among Penguins focused on Stanley Cup, not upcoming contract talks

Maybe Matt Cullen still harkens back to childhood whimsy when he addresses the power of Game 7s in the Stanley Cup playoffs because he sees it in his sons when they watch and play hockey or roam around the Penguins' practice facility in Cranberry.

Then again, maybe the 40-year-old center simply still sees a winner-take-all, season-on-the-line game as the most thrilling form of theater in sport rather than a stress test and potential career conclusion.

“It's just a different feel than any other game you play,” he said Wednesday. “They're as fun as it gets.

“These are the games, when you're a kid growing up, that you're playing in the backyard. So for us as players, this is what it's all about.”

For Cullen and several other Penguins, the answer to what comes after Thursday's Game 7 against Ottawa in the Eastern Conference final is not as simple as “the Stanley Cup Final” or “the start of summer.” A win at PPG Paints Arena keeps the task at hand straightforward: help the Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup champions. A loss initiates the time for contract talks and career longevity considerations for a sizeable segment of the Penguins' playoff roster: seven notable unrestricted free agents, including Cullen, and six prominent restricted free agents. And then there's the impending Las Vegas expansion draft.

Cullen mentioned “the finality of it” as what set Game 7s apart. He did not expound on the potential of a loss marking the end of his career, which started in the 1997-98 season with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Much like a year ago, Cullen has not committed to the idea of retirement after the season but has indicated it's an option.

His history with Game 7s lends itself to optimism that the decision will wait a while longer. Cullen is yet to experience a Game 7 loss in six opportunities. And the Penguins, unable to close the series in Game 6, have a well-documented knack for resilience.

“You know, these guys, I think their expectation is they're going to win,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We understand that we've got to go out and earn it. ... We've earned it all the way to this point. We've got to continue to do that moving forward.”

A season ago, when the Penguins faced the prospect of elimination against Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference final, only the contracts of Cullen, defensemen Ben Lovejoy and Justin Schultz and goalie Jeff Zatkoff loomed as post-playoff question marks. After the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, general manager Jim Rutherford made a concerted effort to retain as much of the roster as possible. Only Lovejoy and Zatkoff left via free agency.

Rutherford said he'll wait until the playoffs end to dive into deal-making with the Penguins' pending free agents. Cullen, Nick Bonino, Chris Kunitz, Trevor Daley, Ron Hainsey, Mark Streit and Chad Ruhwedel have expiring contracts. Schultz, Conor Sheary, Brian Dumoulin, Oskar Sundqvist, Josh Archibald and Derrick Pouliot are restricted free agents. Sheary, Dumoulin, Schultz and Archibald are arbitration eligible, which means they get a chance to negotiate for better deals based on what they brought to the organization this season.

But Rutherford wants those players, all of whom are participating in Penguins practices or rehabilitating from injuries, concentrating on the Cup pursuit. Deal-making is a distraction, and there are enough of those already surrounding the pomp and circumstance of Game 7.

“It's going to be a roller coaster out there,” winger Carter Rowney said. “There's going to be highs and lows on both ends. I think you've got to be able to control your emotions and be able to go out there and execute your game plan.”

Bill West is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at wwest@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BWest_Trib.