Perhaps the best tradition in professional sports resides with the National Hockey League and its ongoing Stanley Cup engraving ordeal. Every year, several new players’ names are added to the Stanley Cup after whichever team hoists Lord Stanley in the end.
Well, this season, it was the Carolina Hurricanes, and as the Stanley Cup is making its rounds to the entire organization, it was finally time for Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon to engrave all of the recent Cup winners from his organization, but he’s now under fire after forgetting a Hurricanes player… whoopsies.
Hurricanes Owner Tom Dundon Engraves All Family Members’ Names, Forgets Player
GettyRALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – JUNE 20: Frederik Andersen #31 raises the Stanley Cup during the Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup Final Victory Parade on June 20, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images)
The New York Post’s Spencer Brod wrote (on 7/10):
“Poor Joel Nystrom.”
“Despite playing in 38 games this season for the Stanley Cup-champion Hurricanes, Nystrom’s name wasn’t engraved on the Cup, even though owner Tom Dundon included the names of his five children. Dundon is facing backlash for the decision, with hockey fans calling the move “disrespectful and shameful.”
Yep, the player is 24-year-old defenseman Joel Nystrom, who just completed his first season in the NHL. Across those 38 games, he finished with 10 points, one goal, and nine assists. He’s a native of Karlstad, Sweden, and was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL entry draft.
Shame on the Hurricanes’ owner? You be the judge. It could just be an honest mistake, perhaps Dundon just forgot? Or maybe it was purposeful.
This could also be a great opportunity for Joel Nystrom to grow his brand and use this as fuel for his sophomore season, in which he figures to have a larger role.
Fair or Foul By Hurricanes Owner Tom Dundon?
Tom Dundon is also a part-owner of the Portland Trail Blazers, and is an American billionaire businessman in financial services, real estate, and sports entertainment. He is the chairman and managing partner of Dundon Capital Partners in Dallas, and also chairman of PickleBall.com.
So, is this a fair or foul move by Dundon? The obvious answer is that it’s extremely disrespectful to Nystrom that he doesn’t have his name engraved on the cup, and even though it might be easy to forget one singular player’s name, Dundon should have certainly had the list of players he needed to engrave in front of him, and maybe Nystrom’s name was not on that list, but he sure didn’t forget the names of his own family members!
Let me know in the comments what you think about this mishap by the Carolina Hurricanes team owner.
Carolina Hurricanes Owner Under Fire After Forgetting to Engrave Player’s Name on Stanley Cup