Tom Dundon’s name isn’t the only one from his household now appearing on the Stanley Cup. The Carolina Hurricanes owner is under fire from some fans after choosing to engrave not just his own name, but those of his wife and five children on the trophy, consuming the first two lines of the team’s 2025-26 section, per the New York Post (check out a pic here). With room capped at 55 names for the winning team, the move meant several fringe players and longtime staffers were left off, including defenseman Joel Nystrom, who played 38 regular-season games, and veteran equipment manager Bobby Gorman, a franchise mainstay since its Hartford Whalers era. The rest of the space went to the team’s CEO, GM, coaching staff, and 24 main players, led by captain and Conn Smythe winner Jordan Staal.
Critics on social media labeled Dundon’s decision “self-serving” and “trashy,” arguing his family didn’t contribute anything on the ice. Dundon isn’t the first owner to push these trophy boundaries: Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola added relatives in 2024 and 2025, while Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington once slipped his father’s name onto the Cup, only to have it later crossed out by the Hockey Hall of Fame. NBC Sports notes that Penny Vinik didn’t get her name on the trophy in 2020 when her then-estranged husband, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeffrey Vinik, saw his team’s victory—but after they reconciled the following year and Tampa won again, she earned an etching on the Cup (they later ended up splitting for good). The Athletic has more on the engraving process for the coveted trophy.