‘Commitment’ from Hurricanes owner results in Stanley Cup win

LAS VEGAS -- Tom Dundon’s nerves usually make it difficult for him to enjoy watching the Carolina Hurricanes play, particularly during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Hurricanes owner was finally freed from that burden after Nikolaj Ehlers’ empty-net goal with 1:08 remaining in their 3-0 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.

“When the empty-net goal went in,” Dundon said, “then that was the first time I’ve had true happiness in a couple months just worrying about the results.”

Ehlers’ goal sealed Carolina’s first championship since it won for the first time in 2006. It was the culmination of a journey that took more than eight years after Dundon acquired a majority stake in the Hurricanes from Peter Karmanos on Jan. 11, 2018.

At the time, Carolina was headed for its ninth consecutive season of missing the playoffs, and the Cup win in 2006 was a fading memory. The idea of winning it again may have seemed far-fetched, but that was Dundon’s vision for the franchise.

It became reality when he hoisted the Cup on the T-Mobile Arena ice.

“It’s wonderful,” Dundon said. “I would’ve hoped it wouldn’t take this long, but obviously getting one is nice.”

Under Dundon, the Hurricanes have become one of the NHL’s most consistent teams, qualifying for the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons, winning at least one series each season and reaching the Eastern Conference Final four times (2019, 2023, 2025, 2026). Not advancing beyond the conference final the first three times was disappointing, but Dundon always believed they were on the right path.

Carolina broke through this season with a dominating playoff run in which they went 16-3, including sweeps of the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the first two rounds before they defeated the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the conference final and the Golden Knights in six games in the Cup Final.

“I think the difference is usually that you get some breaks,” Dundon said. “I think we’ve had really good teams for a long time, and the players have all played hard and had talent and then this time it worked. I don’t really think there was a big difference other than the result.”

Of course, there were moves that helped the Hurricanes reach this point. The most important was undoubtedly promoting Rod Brind’Amour to head coach on May 8, 2018, after he was an assistant for seven seasons.

Their captain of the 2006 Cup team, Brind’Amour immediately raised the standard and changed the culture to where winning was the expectation. The results quickly followed with Carolina reaching the conference final in Brind’Amour’s first season.

“Rod makes the organization and he makes it so easy that I never worry about how things are done,” Dundon said. “Everyone tries hard, cares about each other. He is our secret sauce for sure.”

Brind’Amour said Dundon also contributed to the culture change, though, not settling for what had been done previously and demanding more. 

“I’ve got to give him a lot of credit for this whole thing,” Brind’Amour said. “No. 1, he gave me an opportunity. Without him, I’m not sitting here. I just know it. So, I’ve got to give him credit there. Then, his commitment to trying to build a winner is there.

“He went out and got us players that we needed, and here we are.”

Dundon acknowledged he played a role, but he shared the credit with others such as Brind’Amour and general manager Eric Tulsky. He took what might have been considered a risk when he promoted Tulsky, an assistant GM with an analytics background, to replace Don Waddell, who left to become Columbus Blue Jackets GM two years ago.

Tulsky proved to be a wise hire, strengthening the roster over the past two seasons by adding players such as forwards Nikolaj Ehlers, Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall, defensemen K'Andre Miller and Sean Walker, and goalie Brandon Bussi.

Dundon believes Brind’Amour and the players played the biggest roles in making it all fit together.

“I was part of building it, but a lot of people did that,” Dundon said. “So, the players and (Brind’Amour) have the hardest part, especially when you know if you bring in a player, he’s going to get them to do everything they need to do to help us win and we never have to worry about that.”

Before Dundon took over as majority owner, Carolina’s season-ticket base had dropped below 5,000. They’ve since had a sellout streak that dates to February 2023, and thousands of fans made the trip to Las Vegas to watch them close out the Golden Knights on Sunday.

“It’s way better now, for sure,” Dundon said. “The first year or two getting people interested, it took a second, and now obviously doing this (winning the Cup), I think it unlocks a whole bunch of people that knew we were there but maybe got to experience something better now.”

Ultimately, that was what Dundon had in mind when he purchased the team.

“The big thing is if you win and the fans come and everybody likes each other, and that’s all I wanted,” he said. “I wanted something you could be proud of and something you could count on every day and we have that.”

The championship celebration is just beginning, but Dundon is already looking forward to next season and what they might do for an encore. As he stood among the players celebrating on the ice Sunday, it was clear that is the standard now.

“Look, I think we’re going to have a good team again,” Dundon said. “I think the team’s pretty similar next year, and our expectations will always be about like this.”