Matt Cullen has spent half his lifetime in the NHL but, on Wednesday, the 42-year-old announced that he's calling it quits after a 21-year career. 

Drafted by the then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim with the 35th overall pick in 1996, Cullen went on to play for eight NHL teams: The Ducks, Panthers, Hurricanes, Rangers, Senators, Wild, Predators and Penguins. He won three Stanley Cups during his career -- one with Carolina in 2006 and back-to-back titles with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017. 

Cullen is coming off a season with the Penguins in which he played 71 games, picking up seven goals and 20 points while averaging just over 11-and-a-half minutes of ice time per game. He wraps his career with 1516 games played, 266 goals and 731 points.

The veteran center announced his decision to hang up the skates via the Penguins' Twitter account on Wednesday. That announcement came via an outstanding four-minute long video that not only highlights the peaks of Cullen's long career, but also serves as a genuine "thank you" to those who helped him along the way. It's also just a very well-produced piece of content from the club as well.

The longevity of Cullen's career was largely built on intangibles and character. He was never a superstar -- he only hit the 20-goal mark twice and never reached 50 points in a season -- but he was always seen as a reliable, team-first guy who was great in the locker room. It's a big reason why Cullen had multiple stints with three separate teams during his career (the Hurricanes, Wild and Penguins). He's the kind of guy teams don't realize how much they'll miss until he's gone. 

Cullen was the oldest active player in the NHL ranks. That honor now belongs to Zdeno Chara, who is also 42 but 136 days younger than Cullen.