Carolina Hurricanes Owner Tom Dundon Embroiled in Stanley Cup Etching Controversy

Carolina Hurricanes Owner Tom Dundon Embroiled in Stanley Cup Etching Controversy Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has been criticized for taking up space on the Stanley Cup with his family's names, leaving out players and staff who contributed to the team's championship win.

Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon holds up the Stanley Cup during the team's championship celebration in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 20, 2026.

The Stanley Cup champions are allocated space for a maximum of 55 names to be engraved on the coveted trophy - with Dundon's family taking the first seven spots, totalling 90 characters.

CEO Brian Fork and General Manager Eric Tulsky followed the Dundons before head coach Rod Brind'Amour and his staff completed the next six rows.

Players who appeared in 41 regular-season games, or half the campaign, or dressed in uniform for a finals game are guaranteed a spot on The Cup with the team.Joel Nystrom, who made 38 regular-season appearances with Carolina while spending the remainder of the season with the AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves, did not have his name engraved along with several off-ice staff members.

Equipment Manager Bobby Gorman, who has been with the franchise since they were the Hartford Whalers and was included on The Cup in 2006, was not listed among the names this year.Tom Dundon and his family were among the 53 names engraved on the Stanley Cup after the Carolina Hurricanes had won the NHL Finals in June 2026.

Hurricanes Andrei Svechnikov poses with team owner Tom Dundon and his wife and kids after being selected by the team during the 2018 NHL Draft.

Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal celebrates with the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 14, 2026.Brind'Amour, Staal and forward William Carrier are the only ones whose names were etched onto The Cup in previous years.

While a majority of fans and players celebrated the historic etchings, some took issue with Dundon's familiar positioning.

Tom Dundon, whose net worth is $2.3 billion, according to Forbes, purchased a majority stake of the team for $420 million before buying out the rest of the minority shareholders for full ownership of the organization in 2021.Dundon appeared to replicate Vincent Viola, owner of the Florida Panthers, who had his relatives' names etched into The Cup after the team won it back-to-back in 2024 and 2025.

In 1984, then-Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington had the name of his father, Basil Pocklington, added to The Cup when the team won in 1984, later claiming it was a clerical error.Hockey Hall of Fame officials, the owners of The Cup, found the secret placement and had the elder Pocklington's name crossed out.

Former Chicago Blackhawks video coordinator Brad Aldrich, whose name was added after the team won the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010, had his name covered by Xs after being accused of sexually assaulting former player Kyle Beach during the playoff run.