There are now so many Dundons engraved on the Stanley Cup that you might think you were listening to the themes from Jaws or Law & Order if you read them all aloud.
Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has created a whirlwind of controversy after having the names of his wife and five children engraved on the NHL’s most coveted prize.
The seven Dundon family members received top billing on the freshly engraved panel to represent the 2025-26 league champions.
After the team shared an image of the latest names to be immortalized on Lord Stanley’s mug, fans went into a frenzy on social media.
How did fans respond?
“I was so excited to see the engraving but seeing Dundon’s entire bloodline top billing makes it way less enjoyable,” one Hurricanes fan wrote on Reddit.
“He doesn’t care about anyone but himself and his own family,” another user commented on an image of the engraved names.
“7 Dundons before anyone from the team is a bad joke,” a third user wrote, while another added that it “completely devalues the effort of the staff and players.”
Who didn’t make the cut for the Cup?
One player that some fans felt sorry for was Joel Nystrom. He played for the team in 38 games, which is just four short of the necessary 42 to get engraved.
“Maybe 1 less Dundon and he would have made it on,” one social media user commented.
As for which team staff members receive the honour of getting their names on the Cup, that’s up to the organization.
While there were 53 Hurricanes names in total etched onto the Stanley Cup, none were the team physicians, scouts, announce team or communications department.
Another harsh cut: Three minority owners were excluded.
Is this normal?
One user on Reddit pointed out that Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola also added the names of his family last year — but that inclusion was somewhat justified.
According to the team’s directory, four members of the Viola family are alternate governors and hold additional roles with the club.
Has Tom Dundon been involved in other controversies?
While the Hurricanes were able to hoist the Cup this year, Dundon’s other big franchise, the Portland Trail Blazers, has been anything but trailblazing.
The manner in which Dundon has run his NBA franchise – which he and a group of investors bought less than a year ago for roughly US$4.2 billion – has earned him the nickname “El Cheapo.”
Instances of the team’s ownership cutting costs in controversial manners included cancelling T-shirt giveaways and cutting one of the team’s two mascots.
He also cut ties with interim head coach Tiago Splitter after the team’s surprising playoff appearance and then hired Micah Nori at below-market rate for an NBA coach. The structure of Nori’s contract also includes just one guaranteed year.