Joseph Patrick Mullen (born February 26, 1957) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins between 1980 and 1997. He was a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams, winning with the Flames in 1989 and the Penguins in 1991 and 1992. Mullen turned to coaching in 2000, serving as an assistant in Pittsburgh and briefly as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2007 to 2017.
An undrafted player, Mullen was an all-star for the Boston College Eagles before turning professional in the Blues' organization. He was named the Central Hockey League (CHL) rookie of the year in 1980 and most valuable player in 1981 as a member of the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most gentlemanly player on two occasions as a member of the Flames, as well as the NHL Plus-Minus Award. Mullen was named to the first All-Star team in 1988–89 and played in three NHL All-Star Games.
Mullen played with the United States National Team on several occasions, including three Canada Cup tournaments. He was the first American player to score 500 goals and to reach 1,000 points in his career. Mullen received the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1995 in recognition of his contributions to the sport in the United States. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.
Early life
Born February 26, 1957, in New York City, Mullen grew up in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan when it was controlled by Mickey Spillane. It was a rough neighborhood; Mullen later said that many of the people he grew up with fell into gangs and drug use, and several died before turning 21. He has three brothers, Ken, Tom Jr. and Brian, and a sister, Debbie.
The Mullen family lived less than a block from the old site of the third Madison Square Garden on Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets. Joe's father Tom was a longtime employee on the ice and maintenance staffs at the current Garden. Joe and his brothers often hung around the arena with their father, taking old sticks to play with. Including tournament games, he led the Eagles in goals the following three seasons with 39, 38 and 30 respectively, and points in 1977–78 with 68 and in 1978–79 with 56. Mullen led the Eagles to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship in 1977–78, and was named an all-star of the 1978 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament. He scored a goal in the championship game, but the Eagles lost to cross-town rival Boston University, 5–3.
In four seasons with Boston College, Mullen set school records of 110 goals and 212 points (both subsequently broken). He was named to the All-ECAC, All-New England and NCAA All-American teams in 1978 and 1979. He won the Walter Brown Award in 1978 as the top American-born player in New England, Boston College has twice honored Mullen; He was inducted into the school's Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1998, while the hockey program retired his jersey number 21 the following year.
St. Louis Blues
While Mullen had a successful college career, he went undrafted by any National Hockey League (NHL) team. However, he received interest as a free agent from several teams following graduation as well as the United States Olympic Team. He was named to the first all-star team and won the CHL's Most Valuable Player Award. He again reached the 40-goal plateau in 1984–85, and had 92 points total. On February 1, 1986, the Blues dealt him to the Calgary Flames as part of a six player trade. Mullen went to Calgary, along with Terry Johnson and Rik Wilson, for Eddy Beers, Charlie Bourgeois and Gino Cavallini.
Calgary Flames
thumb|Mullen with the [[Calgary Flames ]]
The Flames felt they needed a quality offensive player and expected Mullen to fulfill that role. He then led the league with 12 goals in the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs. He led the 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs with 16 goals as the Flames defeated the Canadiens to win their first Stanley Cup championship. He was sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a draft day trade on June 16, 1990, in exchange for Pittsburgh's second round selection (26th overall, which turned out to be defenseman Nicolas Perreault).
Pittsburgh and Boston
The move to Pittsburgh brought Mullen closer to his New York home and fulfilled his desire to raise his family in his native United States. He also appreciated that the Penguins felt he could aid their team. Penguins' head coach Bob Johnson, who had previously coached him in Calgary, influenced the team's decision to acquire him. an injury for which he could not identify a specific check or incident as the cause. He returned for the third game of the Penguins' Division semifinals series against the New Jersey Devils, scoring a goal. Mullen finished the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs with eight goals, including two in game six of the Final, an 8–0 victory over the Minnesota North Stars that clinched Pittsburgh's first Stanley Cup. He appeared in only nine playoff games, however, as he suffered a knee injury that required surgery to repair in the second game of Pittsburgh's Division Final series against the New York Rangers. Mullen watched from the sidelines as the Penguins repeated as Stanley Cup champions. A 38-goal season in 1993–94 led to Mullen's third All-Star Game appearance. The game was a homecoming of sorts for Mullen, as it was played in Madison Square Garden.
In the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, Mullen scored 37 points in 45 games. He left the Penguins following the season, signing a one-year contract as a free agent with the Boston Bruins. Mullen chose to wear number 11 with the Bruins as his usual number 7 had been retired by the Bruins in honor of Phil Esposito. He missed the majority of the season after requiring surgery for another herniated disc, then suffering a sprained medial collateral ligament. He appeared in only 37 games, scoring 15 points. He appeared in 54 games and scored 22 points. He retired as a player following the season.
Since his retirement Mullen has continued to play in amateur / charity games as a member of the Boston Bruins Alumni team.
International
Mullen made his first appearance with the United States National Team following his graduation from Boston College. He was a member of three Canada Cup teams, appearing at the 1984, 1987 and 1991 tournaments. The Americans settled for second place, however, after losing to Canada in the championship series. The United States had a disastrous 12th-place finish in the 1998 tournament, requiring them to go into a qualifying round to avoid relegation to the B division for 1999. As the qualifying tournament was played in November, American NHL players were not available.