Joe Mullen Joseph Mullen ( born February 26 , 1957 , in New York City , NY ) is a retired American professional player who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League with the St . Louis Blues , Calgary Flames , Pittsburgh Penguins , and Boston Bruins from 1980 – 1997 . He won 3 Stanley Cups in 1989 with Calgary , and in 1991 and 1992 with Pittsburgh . His brother Brian Mullen is also a former NHL player , and his son Patrick plays for the University of Denver in the WCHA . His other son Michael is playing professional hockey , and his oldest son Ryan played ACHA hockey at Robert Morris University . Amateur career . Mullen grew up in the tough Hell ' s Kitchen neighborhood in New York City , where he initially played roller hockey using a roll of electrical tape for a puck . He moved to Boston College on a partial hockey scholarship in 1975 ( he had to pay $ 700 out of his own pocket in his first year ) , which became a full scholarship in his second year thanks to his exploits as a star forward for the Boston College Eagles men ' s hockey team . Mullen made his international debut with the United States national team at the 1979 World Hockey Championship tournament in Moscow immediately after his college career had ended . He scored seven goals in eight games for Team USA . Professional career . Although Mullen was highly coveted by the 1980 U . S . Olympic coach Herb Brooks , he opted to sign a free agent contract with the St . Louis Blues rather than join the eventual " Miracle on Ice " team for the 1980 Winter Olympics since his father was ill and Mullen ' s family needed the money . Joe Mullen ' s first professional season was spent in the minors with the Blues ' top farm team the Salt Lake Golden Eagles where he was voted Central Hockey League Rookie of Year . He also made his NHL debut for St . Louis by appearing in one game of the 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs . The next season was also spent in the minors as Mullen won the CHL scoring championship and was named to the CHL first All - Star team . Mullen finally became an NHL regular in 1981 – 82 when he scored 59 points in 45 games for the Blues . He was traded to the Calgary Flames in 1986 where he enjoyed some of his best seasons , playing in the 1989 and 1990 NHL All - Star game as well as being named to the league first All - Star team in 1989 ( he also was the NHL Plus / minus leader that season ) . He also won his first Stanley Cup as a member of the Flames in 1989 . In 1990 , the Flames traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second round draft pick reasoning that at age 33 , Mullen would soon be a spent force . Instead he was an important performer on the Pens ' Stanley Cup winning teams of 1991 and 1992 . During his time in Pittsburgh , Mullen also played in the 1994 NHL All - Star game . Mullen spent the 1995 – 96 season with the Boston Bruins as a free agent before returning to play his final NHL season in Pittsburgh in 1996 – 97 . Mullen played for Team USA at the 1984 , 1987 and 1991 Canada Cup tournaments . He also won the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1995 in recognition for his service to American hockey . Mullen retired in 1997 as the first the American born NHL player to score 500 goals ( 502 ) . Joey was also the first American to reach 1 , 000 total career points ( eventually reaching 1 , 063 ) , a feat that has been equaled by only six other American s . Post playing career . At 42 , Mullen briefly came out of retirement in 1999 to once again play for the US national team in the 1999 World Hockey Championship qualifying tournament ( the U . S . team featuring several NHL players had surprisingly finished among the bottom four in the previous 1998 world championship tournament ) when no active NHL players were available . He currently serves as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League . Mullen was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame and United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000 .