{"id":1968036,"date":"2026-06-02T12:30:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T09:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1968036"},"modified":"2026-06-02T12:30:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T09:30:36","slug":"tom-dundons-way-how-the-controversial-new-nba-owner-funded-an-nhl-powerhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1968036","title":{"rendered":"Tom Dundon\u2019s way: How the controversial new NBA owner funded an NHL powerhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 Tom Dundon walked slowly through the Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 home dressing room, stopping every so often to offer fist bumps and words of support amid the celebration.<\/p>\n

In one hand behind his back, the billionaire owner held three hats labeled \u201c2026 Eastern Conference Champs,\u201d souvenirs for family and friends who joined him to watch Friday\u2019s Game 5 against the Montreal Canadiens. He chatted with forward Taylor Hall, the opening goal-scorer in a 6-1 rout that clinched the Canes\u2019 first Stanley Cup Final appearance in two decades. He stood next to an emotional Frederik Andersen as the goaltender was honored by teammates as their player of the game, a day after the death of Andersen\u2019s agent and friend, Claude Lemieux<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Wearing a black hoodie, black track pants and a pair of well-worn white Nikes, Dundon was firmly out of the limelight following the biggest win in the Hurricanes\u2019 recent history. And yet, again and again, players and staffers lauded him as an integral part of their accomplishment.<\/p>\n

Eight years ago, the Dallas-based Dundon, who made his fortune in subprime auto lending, bought a downtrodden NHL franchise in Carolina and swiftly put his stamp on its operations. Now, after the league\u2019s first 12-1 start to a postseason in 50 years, the Hurricanes are four wins away from their second Stanley Cup championship, with Game 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights set for Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI give him tons of credit,\u201d coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour said of Dundon. \u201cWe\u2019ve been pretty solid ever since he showed up on the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s given everything he can to get us our best chance,\u201d Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. \u201c(He) changed it right from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s always looking for ways to chart an even better course,\u201d general manager Eric Tulsky added.<\/p>\n

But the love-in from Dundon\u2019s hockey team stands in stark contrast to the reception he\u2019s received \u2014 not to mention the reputation he\u2019s gained \u2014 as the new owner of another major-league franchise some 2,400 miles west of Raleigh.<\/p>\n

After years of coveting an NBA team, Dundon\u2019s $4.25 billion bid to buy the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> was formally approved by the league\u2019s Board of Governors on March 30, two months before the Hurricanes reached the summit of their sport. Before long, though, he had become a massive lightning rod, with reports of his unusual cost-cutting measures drawing national backlash: During the Blazers\u2019 first-round playoff series, a five-game loss to the eventual Western Conference-champion San Antonio Spurs, The Ringer\u2019s Bill Simmons<\/a> memorably branded Dundon as \u201cEl Cheapo.\u201d<\/p>\n

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To many who have worked with Dundon in hockey, whether on the Hurricanes or from the vantage point of the NHL\u2019s league office, this recent avalanche of criticism from the basketball world has come as a surprise. In speaking for this story, they provided many colorful words to describe a man laser-focused on both winning games and eliminating inefficiencies \u2014 including \u201cdemanding,\u201d \u201cintense,\u201d \u201cdata-driven\u201d and \u201cobsessive.\u201d But \u201ccheap\u201d was not something any of them had experienced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact of the matter is, he doesn\u2019t always do things in traditional ways,\u201d NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. \u201cI think in some ways he\u2019s a bit of a disruptor, but he\u2019s extraordinarily creative and effective. And the results in Carolina \u2014 they\u2019re both on and off the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Earlier on Friday night, Dundon flew into Raleigh via private jet and arrived at Lenovo Center mere minutes before the start of Game 5. As he did, he sent a cryptic text containing only a luxury suite number and the words, \u201cI\u2019m walking in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments later, with the puck drop nearing, Dundon stood in a private box that was packed with Hurricanes jerseys and poised to erupt. There, in a rare recent instance of him granting an interview request, the two-team owner spoke to The Athletic<\/em> about the storm that\u2019s swirled around him since he bought the Blazers.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s clear from our conversation that Dundon was caught off-guard by the criticism over his early decisions in Portland<\/a>, which included replacing free T-shirts for fans at home playoff games with towels and, in an unprecedented-for-the-NBA move, not traveling with its two-way players to San Antonio for the start of the first round. (Dundon later apologized for the latter.<\/a>) But, in reflecting on what he would do differently, he only expressed regret about the timing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there were little changes that I thought were going to get out, that were going to create drama in the middle of the (NBA) playoffs, I wouldn\u2019t have done it,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Overall, continued Dundon, whose net worth is estimated at $2.3 billion by Forbes, any perceived belt-tightening is really driven by another simple goal: \u201cI don\u2019t make the decisions to save money. I make the decisions to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dundon brought a similar mindset to Raleigh after buying a controlling stake in the Hurricanes in 2018, and it ruffled feathers then, too. Some staff voluntarily left the organization after deciding that the new owner\u2019s brash ways weren\u2019t for them, while others departed as financial casualties, such as beloved local broadcasters Chuck Kaiton and John Forslund.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou have somebody who\u2019s coming in and asking in every area: \u2018Why are you doing it this way? Are you sure that\u2019s the right way?’\u201d said Tulsky, then the Hurricanes\u2019 manager of hockey analytics. \u201cAnd the answer \u2014 \u2018I\u2019ve been doing this for 15 years. Trust me. I know.\u2019 \u2014 didn\u2019t fly with him. He wanted you to convince him. And that\u2019s scary for someone who\u2019s been doing it for 15 years and feels like they know it and they\u2019re being challenged.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cuts also stoked fears among fans that the franchise would eventually be relocated. But again, Dundon does not apologize. \u201cWe kept a lot of people and got rid of a lot of people and all the story was about who you got rid off, not who you kept,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the ability to look at everybody and make sure the people you absolutely have to have (ultimately) stay with you is important. And we did it here.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, Dundon began paying considerably to improve the team\u2019s on-ice product. After sporting the NHL\u2019s lowest or second-lowest player payroll for four consecutive years between 2015-16 and 2018-19, Carolina has spent to the salary cap ceiling in four of the past five seasons. Last summer alone, Tulsky signed defenseman K\u2019Andre Miller and forwards Nikolaj Ehlers, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake to long-term deals annually worth more than $27 million combined, more than a quarter of the team upper limit for the 2025-26 season. All four have played starring roles during the Hurricanes\u2019 current playoff run.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe didn\u2019t just wing it,\u201d Brind\u2019Amour said of Dundon. \u201cHe sat back and he watched the process \u2026 then asked us what we needed to do to be successful. I summed it up: \u2018We needed a fair fight. Which meant you gotta pay the players.\u2019 Then he said \u2018OK.\u2019 We didn\u2019t have that discrepancy anymore, went out and got good players and kept the ones that we needed to keep.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes remain a small-market NHL team, but they\u2019ve invested heavily in other areas of their hockey operations, too. The analytics department, for example, expanded to become one of the biggest in the league, adding two data scientists, a data engineer and a second software developer. To help the players, they also hired for new roles such as assistant video coach, massage therapist, nutritionist and team chef.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMost of the groups in the locker room staff have expanded by one or two people in the time he\u2019s been here,\u201d Tulsky said of Dundon. \u201cHe came in, saw a team that was really at bare-bones spending, and said, \u2018You guys aren\u2019t spending enough. There\u2019s a lot of places here where we can spend more money and get value for it.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that he\u2019s looking to cut spending: It\u2019s that he is looking to spend only where there is value.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Harvard-educated nanotechnologist<\/a>, Tulsky eventually adapted to those \u201cscary\u201d changes that Dundon initially made; six years after buying the team, Dundon promoted Tulsky to its top hockey operations role. Over this time, Tulsky has learned that his new boss\u2019 drive to improve exceeds that of anything he experienced working in academia or the scientific community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could win four Cups in a row,\u201d Tulsky said, \u201cand the question will be, \u2018How do we put ourselves in position to win the next seven?’\u201d<\/p>\n

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Despite initial concerns that Dundon might relocate the Hurricanes, whose attendance bottomed out to last in the NHL with fewer than 12,000 fans per game in 2016-17, those have proven unfounded. After years of negotiations, the team recently signed a new lease extension at Lenovo Center through 2043-44, with local government officials committing to a $300 million renovation that\u2019s currently underway on the aging facility. Dundon, meanwhile, pledged $800 million to develop the area around an arena that has long been surrounded by only parking lots.<\/p>\n

Whether Dundon can reach a similar agreement in Portland for the 31-year-old Moda Center remains an open question, one that serves as a troubling backdrop for Blazers fans anxious about the team\u2019s new owner. Municipal negotiations remain at an early stage, with signs pointing to a potentially more difficult process<\/a> than in Raleigh.<\/p>\n

As the NBA was conducting due diligence on Dundon as a potential owner, commissioner Adam Silver checked in with Bettman on the billionaire\u2019s NHL reputation. Silver received a glowing report back, featuring details on how Dundon had rebuilt the Hurricanes and inked a deal to keep them in Raleigh for the long haul.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey wanted to make sure he was an owner in good standing, which he is. I think he\u2019s a terrific owner,\u201d Bettman said, calling Dundon \u201cextremely thoughtful and really smart\u201d and the results he\u2019s overseen in Carolina \u201cextraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team has been well-assimilated into the community in terms of corporate sponsorship and partnerships,\u201d the NHL commissioner added. \u201cThe season-ticket base and the fan base is great, the way they sell out that building.\u201d<\/p>\n

To those on the ground in Carolina, the path to finalizing the Hurricanes\u2019 arena deal started with their on-ice success. Only then did fans show up in droves, starting a 165-game sellout streak that will surely extend to 166 during Game 1.<\/p>\n

Revenues have subsequently skyrocketed. As of 2025, compared to when Dundon took over, the team\u2019s season-ticket base was up 117 percent; its season-ticket revenue was up 227 percent; and its average gate revenue was up 179 percent. The intake from corporate sponsorship had also nearly doubled.<\/p>\n

Said Hurricanes CEO Brian Fork: \u201cHe is extremely motivated for the team to have success on the ice, but he also pays very close attention to the business, and to studying what are ways that we can make the fan experience better, what are food and beverage offerings that we could add, that will get more people excited.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving somebody that involved and that committed to success has certainly been the primary driver in the team\u2019s success over the last eight years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest difference between owning the Hurricanes and Trail Blazers may come down to how willing their respective local governments are to work with a new owner. When asked about Portland\u2019s arena situation from his Lenovo Center luxury suite before Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, Dundon said he doesn\u2019t believe those negotiations will be his toughest challenge in Portland.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re working in good faith to try to solve the long-term problem,\u201d Dundon said. \u201cAnd I hope we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dundon then reiterated that his No. 1 focus with the Blazers is on capturing an NBA championship. Portland had one of the league\u2019s worst records in the four years prior to making the playoffs this spring. But if all goes according to plan, a similar ascent to the one currently on display by his NHL team awaits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we run the playing team (in Portland) is just like we do (with the Hurricanes),\u201d Dundon said. \u201cWe do everything we can to win, players are well taken care of, then we run the business to be efficient. I don\u2019t think any of those things, for me, they\u2019re not very controversial.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Dundon and Ehlers shared a moment on the ice after Carolina clinched its Cup Final berth. (Katherine Gawlik \/ Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As the conference finals-clinching celebration took over the ice, one of the newest members of the Hurricanes grabbed the team\u2019s owner around the shoulder and shouted into his ear about what the latest win meant. For both Dundon and Ehlers, who arrived in free agency after 10 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, it was their first trip to the Cup Final.<\/p>\n

Dundon may remain controversial in Portland, but he is clearly beloved by Carolina\u2019s players \u2014 many of whom shared personal stories when asked about him. Defenseman Sean Walker thanked Dundon for lending a private jet so Walker could attend his daughter\u2019s birth during the playoffs. Forward Jordan Martinook \u2014 one of five current Hurricanes remaining from the start of Dundon\u2019s tenure \u2014 spoke of memorable dinners and golf outings with \u201cthe boss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forward Andrei Svechnikov, meanwhile, grew emotional recalling how Dundon communicated with him throughout a difficult rookie season in 2018-19, after the 18-year-old from Siberia was taken with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft \u2014 the owner\u2019s first-ever selection for Carolina. Meeting Dundon changed his life, Svechnikov said, as he was someone who \u201calways will do anything for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember how hard it was in my first couple of months,\u201d Svechnikov said. \u201cHe was calling me and telling me that you just got to calm down, everything will be fine, we believe in you \u2014 all that stuff. That was very meaningful to me. I would never forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Standing in his Lenovo Center suite, Dundon seemed hopeful that Carolina\u2019s run to the Cup Final could serve as an olive branch to fans of his new team in Portland, a showcase of what he\u2019s really about. At the same time, he is learning how to process a level of attention and criticism that never came in Carolina, where the spotlight isn\u2019t quite as bright.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am extremely lucky to be able to do it,\u201d Dundon said. \u201cHow could you regret being able to own an NBA basketball team? It\u2019s a privilege. So, no one likes when people say bad stuff about them. But in the relative to all the other problems in the world, it\u2019s not a big problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to his latest sports venture with the Blazers, Dundon hasn\u2019t altered his approach; a few weeks after the team was eliminated from the NBA playoffs, it laid off more than 70 members of its business operations staff<\/a>. But he also wants people in Portland to know that he is not a boogeyman looking to steal away their team. Rather, he just wants to win, the way he\u2019s on the cusp of doing with the Hurricanes, a franchise no one believed in eight short years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe judgment and empathy you need to be successful, the hard work you have to put in, works across basketball and hockey \u2014 and every other business,\u201d Dundon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll do anything I can for these guys (with the Hurricanes) and they do everything they can to help us win. And I don\u2019t think basketball is going to be any different.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 Tom Dundon walked slowly through the Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 home dressing room, stopping every so often to offer fist bumps and words of support amid the celebration. In one hand behind his back, the billionaire owner held three hats labeled \u201c2026 Eastern Conference Champs,\u201d souvenirs for family and friends who joined him to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1968036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1968036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968036\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1968036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1968036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1968036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}