The engraving of names into the Stanley Cup is getting extra attention this summer because of six of the names included.

The names of Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon's wife and five children follow his before getting to members of the front office, coaches and players.

He is not the first team owner to include family members on hockey’s hallowed silver chalice. At times a matter of controversy, it has become commonplace in recent years.

Penny Vinik, the then-wife of Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeffrey Vinik was on it in 2021. She did not make the cut in 2020 when the couple was going through divorce proceedings before reconciling and then finalizing a split years later.

Vincent Viola’s wife, Teresa, and the couple’s three children, John, Michael and Travis, are all on it twice from the Florida Panthers’ back-to-back championships in 2024 and ’25.

Tom Dundon, Veruschka Dundon, Caden Dundon, Dax Dundon, Drew Dundon, Blake Dundon and Tagan Dundon take up the first two lines. Player Joel Nystrom, who skated in 38 regular-season games for Carolina, was not among the 53 names added, along with other off-ice support staff.

Taking part in 41 regular-season games — half, which could become 42 as the NHL goes to an 84-game schedule — or dressing in one in the final guarantees inclusion. That explains why all three Hurricanes goaltenders, Brandon Bussi, Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov, made it.

The winning team can also petition for exemptions. Nicolas Deslauriers, the enforcer who played in eight games after getting acquired ahead of the trade deadline counting the playoffs, got his name on that way this time.

The Hockey Hall of Fame said it is not directly involved with the engraving, just the care of the Cup. The Hurricanes declined comment through a team spokesperson.

In 1984, the Edmonton Oilers' first of five titles in seven years included an engraving controversy. Owner Peter Pocklington had his father's name put on, and it was later chiseled over with X's because Basil Pocklington had nothing to do with the championship. Peter attributed it to a clerical mix-up.

Basil Pocklington is not the only name scratched out of the trophy. Brad Aldrich, a video coach for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 when they won the first of three championships in six years, had his name covered in 2021 after it came to light that he sexually assaulted player Kyle Beach, the coverup of which triggered an independent investigation and a series of resignations.

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The Canadian Press contributed to this story.

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The Utah Mammoth matched New Jersey’s offer sheet to Barrett Hayton on Wednesday, signing the 26-year-old center to a $4.775 million contract for next season.

“Barrett’s a key piece for us,” general manager Bill Armstrong said on a video call with reporters. “He really anchors our team in a lot of different ways. ... He’s a valuable piece of our team and somebody that we believe we can move forward with and help us win a championship.”

Utah would have received the Devils’ 2027 second-round pick as compensation if it did not match. It cost New Jersey nothing to take the risk on the restricted free agent, as Philadelphia did with its $90 million offer sheet to Anaheim's Leo Carlsson on Friday.

While Carlsson is set to become the NHL's highest-paid player on a five-year contract, this was a calculated move for the short term. The Mammoth can sign Hayton to an extension beginning Jan. 1 but cannot trade him before July 1, when he could hit the unrestricted free agent market at age 27.

Because of that, Armstrong said this was not a quick decision.

“We went down every rabbit hole we could,” Armstrong said. “We made sure we explored every single avenue. And what we got is a player that’s going to jump in a role for us and really help this club get to the next level.”

Hayton is coming off putting up 25 points in 67 regular-season games. The fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft when the team was in Arizona, he has 155 points in 362 games in the NHL, counting the playoffs.

“I’m fired up to get back with my teammates and remain in Utah,” Hayton said. “I’ve been with this core group for my whole career and it’s exciting that we have an opportunity to do some special things next season.”

Offer sheets have been few and far between in recent years, although St. Louis successfully poached forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg from Edmonton in the summer of 2024 when the Oilers were hamstrung by the salary cap to match and keep two young players.

“It’s the new world of the NHL, and I think offer sheets are going to become very common,” Armstrong said. “I think you’re going to see them every single summer. I think every GM is going to be aware of them as they negotiate during the course of the year.”

Fifteen restricted free agents this year have filed for arbitration, most prominently Dallas' Jason Robertson, making them ineligible to sign an offer sheet.

Sunny Mehta, a first-time GM since taking over control of the Devils' hockey operations department in April, was tight-lipped about offer-sheeting Hayton when asked about it last week.

“I know that the offer sheet thing, it’s a unique thing,” Mehta said on a video call with reporters. “It’s exciting. I get all that, but right now with it still being within that seven-day window, I can't comment on any of it right now.”

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OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Claude Giroux is returning to the Ottawa Senators after agreeing to terms Tuesday on a contract for next season with a $2 million salary that can be worth up to $5 million in bonuses.

“Claude took his time to evaluate his options, and his decision to re-sign with us shows his belief and commitment to our group,” Ottawa general manager Steve Staios said. “He is the consummate professional and brings veteran experience to our core on an off the ice.”

Giroux, 38, was linked in free agency to the Philadelphia Flyers this summer, but a reunion did not materialize. He spent his first 15-plus NHL seasons with them from 2008-22 before getting traded at the deadline to Florida.

The Hearst, Ontario, native played the past four seasons with the Senators. Going back to Ottawa makes Giroux a candidate to succeed Brady Tkachuk as captain, following his trade last month to the Panthers to play with his brother, Matthew.

“I chose to come back because I want to be here," Giroux said. "Being around those guys for four years, we got really close. This team feels like a family. I just care for those players.”

Giroux's 1,165 regular-season points rank 60th in league history and are the eighth-most among active players.

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TORONTO (AP) — Daniel Alfredsson, once public enemy No. 1 in Toronto as captain of the Ottawa Senators, is leaving Canada's capital to join the Maple Leafs as an associate coach.

The Maple Leafs announced the move Tuesday, saying John Gruden and Brad Werenka also are joining coach Jim Hiller’s staff as assistants.

Alfredsson, 53, spent the last three seasons as an assistant in Ottawa after a Hall of Fame playing career spent mostly with the Senators.

The Swedish winger was a prominent figure in the “Battle of Ontario” between the Maple Leafs and Senators, which included four playoff showdowns between 2000 and 2004.

Senators owner Michael Andlauer in a statement said that while he wished Alfredsson were not joining a rival organization, the door would always be open for a return.

The Maple Leafs announced that assistant coaches Mike Van Ryn and Derek Lalonde would not return.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin is returning for a 22nd season with the Washington Capitals.

Will this be the final act of his illustrious career?

“I don't know,” he said. “We'll see.”

The NHL's career leader in goals didn't formally commit to returning in 2026-27 until last week, so it was perhaps no surprise that Ovechkin remained noncommittal on whether this is going to be his swan song in Washington. Ovechkin said his wife suggested he play “one more year, or maybe two years, I don't know" — so if anyone was expecting him to announce a retirement tour for this season, that did not happen.

Instead, Ovechkin is focused on showing he can still be effective — he'll be 41 — and help the team win. The organization he's returning to has been one of the most active in the league this offseason, adding Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch and Boone Jenner — among others — via the trade and free agent markets.

Those three have all reached 30 goals at some point in their careers, and Ovechkin did that even last season at his advanced age. The Capitals missed the playoffs, but they had the same number of points (95) as Vegas did before the Golden Knights made a run to the Stanley Cup Final. Washington also finished tied for third in the NHL in even-strength goal differential.

“When you look at our roster, it's a Stanley Cup contender,” Ovechkin said. “I know I still can play, and bring energy to the locker room, energy on the ice.”

The Capitals have mostly remained competitive even though almost everyone from their 2018 Stanley Cup-winning team is gone. Ovechkin and Tom Wilson are still around, but Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Braden Holtby and Evgeny Kuznetsov exited at various points since then. Veteran defenseman John Carlson, who was in his 17th year in Washington, was traded last season.

Now it's a team led by Ovechkin, Wilson, Dylan Strome, Jakob Chychrun, Pierre-Luc Dubois and goalie Logan Thompson — plus new additions.

“We came in looking to add skill to our top six,” president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan said. “We wanted to get a physical, long defenseman that had a net-front presence. We were looking at veteran leadership.”

Ovechkin said it took "maybe 10 minutes” to finalize a deal after telling the team he'd return. He'll make a $1 million salary with bonuses worth an additional $8 million — including $4.75 million if he plays 10 games. The contract counts just $4.25 million against the cap after Washington made plenty of use of its substantial salary cap space.

“Alex, thank you very, very much for the way you handled this," owner Ted Leonsis said.

Ovechkin appeared on a video conference while vacationing in Turkey. Leonsis, MacLellan and general manager Chris Patrick were on the call. Coach Spencer Carbery, who will be tasked with arranging all the new talent on the ice, wasn't.

Ovechkin scored 32 goals last season and 44 in 2024-25, when he broke Wayne Gretzky's career record of 894. He's still a threat in the offensive zone, although oddly, he managed only five power-play goals on 86 shots last season. The power play was a big problem for Washington in general.

The role Ovechkin will play going forward remains to be seen.

“I think we have a pretty balanced team,” Patrick said. “Like a lot of our players, he can move up and down the lineup as how Carbs sees fit, and how he wants to use the lines and deploy the lines on a given night. And obviously the power-play piece as well, where Alex has proven time and again he's an effective player.”

Ovechkin's news conference came shortly before the start of Monday's Portugal-Spain match in the World Cup. Ovechkin spoke glowingly about how Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina's Lionel Messi continue to perform against younger opposition.

“If you look at Messi and Ronaldo, those players show example that if you're able to continue show the level what you have, the skill, it's tremendous,” he said. “You can see how they play. It's tremendous. I'm really impressed.”

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CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — The Calgary Flames signed defenseman Simon Nemec to a five-year contract worth $36.25 million on Monday.

Nemec will count $7.25 million against the salary cap through the 2030-31 NHL season. Calgary acquired his rights and winger Maxim Tsyplakov from New Jersey last month for a second-round pick this year, two conditional first-rounders and prospect Etienne Morin.

“I just felt like the return that we got from Calgary was just kind of too good to pass up," Devils general manager Sunny Mehta said on a video call with reporters last week. "They kind of stepped up with their offer to get him, and I just thought it was ultimately the right thing for the organization to move on.”

Nemec skated in 159 combined games in the league since the Devils took him with the second pick in the 2022 draft, averaging roughly 19 minutes of ice time. Mehta denied that Nemec asked for a trade and said after a candid conversation that he felt it best for the 22-year-old Slovak to get a fresh start elsewhere.

“He just wants a path," Mehta said. “He wants a path to develop and a path to grow into the role that he foresees for himself.”

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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Defenseman Pavel Mintyukov has agreed to five-year contract extension worth $36 million with the Anaheim Ducks, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because the Ducks didn't announce the financial terms of their deal through the 2030-31 season with the 22-year-old Mintyukov. The promising Russian blueliner was a restricted free agent this summer after recording 17 goals and 52 assists over 204 games in his first three NHL seasons.

The Ducks belatedly got this pricier-than-expected deal done with one of their most important young players only two days after they blundered into a precarious situation with their cornerstone center.

Leo Carlsson signed a five-year, $90 million offer sheet with Philadelphia last Friday, which means the 21-year-old Swede is likely to be the NHL's highest-paid player next season for the Flyers or for the Ducks, who can match the offer or receive four first-round draft picks as compensation. Anaheim must decide by Friday.

Either way, the development is a public embarrassment for Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek, whose antagonistic, foot-dragging attitude in negotiations with his young core finally cost him dearly.

Either he will lose one of the NHL's top young centers, or Carlsson will eat up much more of his salary cap room than would have been necessary if Verbeek had done a deal at any point in the past year. Carlsson's front-loaded, $18-million-per-year offer from the Flyers is much more than he was expected to receive, and more than Carlsson had already said he would accept.

Mason McTavish, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale all held out in recent years when Verbeek’s hardline tactics dragged the negotiations into training camp — and while they all eventually signed, Verbeek has since traded all three young players.

Mintyukov's deal was worth more than he was expected to get by most NHL observers, but the Ducks didn't say whether another team had signed Mintyukov to an offer sheet. No NHL team immediately announced it had used the same tactic with Mintyukov that Flyers general manager Daniel Briere is using to attempt to sign Carlsson.

Verbeek also must still sign breakout star Cutter Gauthier, who scored 41 goals for the Ducks last season before reaching restricted free agency.

Anaheim still has enough cap room to do a deal with Gauthier, who isn't eligible to receive an offer sheet from another team. But the combined size of these now-inflated deals for Mintyukov, Gauthier and likely Carlsson means Verbeek won't have any room to make additional improvements to his roster, and will almost certainly have to offload salary.

Verbeek also has lost four key defensemen — captain Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba, John Carlson and Olen Zellweger — in the past month while adding only journeyman Nick Jensen as a probable replacement.

Verbeek's mistakes have dampened the good feelings coming off an impressive season by the Ducks, who ended their seven-year playoff drought and then eliminated the back-to-back Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers in the first round with an exciting young core under coach Joel Quenneville.

Mintyukov was the 10th overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft. While he has the potential to become an elite two-way defenseman, he hasn't yet developed the consistency or the scoring acumen to match the size of his contract extension.

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Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn is returning for an 18th season with the only team he has ever played for in the NHL.

The Stars announced Friday, two weeks before Benn's 37th birthday, that he has signed a one-year deal for the 2026-27 season. The contract has a base salary of $850,000, the league minimum, with another $1,150,000 in potential performance bonuses.

“Jamie’s leadership and commitment to this organization is truly unmatched and he has helped define our culture,” general manager Jim Nill said. "He continues to set the standard on and off the ice, and we’re excited to have him leading our team for another season.”

Hall of Fame center Mike Modano is the only player in franchise history with more than Benn’s 1,252 regular-season games, 414 goals and 992 points. Benn has 80 points (28 goals and 52 assists) in 126 postseason games, and still hopes to win a Stanley Cup title.

Benn has been the Stars captain since 2013-14, and this is the second offseason in a row he had a decision to make about whether to play another season. He also played on a one-year deal last season after the end of a $76 million, eight-year contract.

He missed the first 19 games last season because of a punctured lung and his 60 games played were his fewest in a full 82-game regular season. He had 15 goals and 21 assists with a $1 million base salary, and earned another $2 million in bonuses.

After the Stars were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in May, Benn said he was going to sit back before making a decision about another season. His coach and teammates were clear then that they hoped he would keep playing.

“For me, it’s a slam dunk. He needs to come back,” coach Glen Gulutzan said after completing his first season back with the Stars.

Benn was the only player Gulutzan also coached during his first tenure behind the Dallas bench (2011-13).

Tyler Seguin has been teammates with Benn since 2013-14, after he was traded from Boston and the same season Benn became the Stars captain.

Seguin, who is going into the final season of a $78.8 million, eight-year contract, made it clear after last season that he hoped for another chance at the Cup with Benn.

Dallas went to the Western Conference final in each of the previous three seasons before the early postseason exit this year.

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Former Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy went with Adin Hill as his goaltender for the final stretch this past season.

Replacement coach John Tortorella quickly switched to Carter Hart.

And now current coach Ryan Craig, expected to have both goalies at his disposal, could divide their play.

“I feel really good about our goaltending with Adin Hill and Carter Hart," general manager Kelly McCrimmon said.

The Golden Knights last season relied on multiple goalies when Akira Schmid started 29 games, Hill 27 and Hart 18. Other teams, notably Florida, New Jersey and Philadelphia, are expected to take a similar approach into next season, especially with it going from 82 to 84 games.

Vegas retaining Hill wasn't necessarily expected. Hill, who has five years remaining on a contract that pays $6.25 million per year, had been rumored as someone the Golden Knights would try to deal after he lost his job to Hart. Vegas instead shipped Schmid to the Panthers.

“I think Adin is going to bounce back," McCrimmon said. "He’s a good goalie that had a tough season. We need him to revert to form. I expect that he will. Carter, for me, made a great impression getting us to the Stanley Cup Final. I think we’re in good shape at that position.”

Hill was in net when the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023, coming off the bench in the second round at Edmonton and carrying Vegas from there. He started a career-high 50 games a year ago, but never more than 35 in any other season. His .870 save percentage this past season was his career worst and the 3.04 goals allowed per game were his highest when starting at least 10 games.

Hart had his own struggles last season, not being allowed to play until at least Dec. 1 because of his role in a sexual-assault case. He and four other 2018 Canada world junior players were acquitted.

He went 5-3-3 with a 3.23 GAA and .874 save percentage before missing nearly three months with an injury. Hart was sensational upon his return, going 6-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .930 percentage to close the regular season and then 12-4 with a 2.22 GAA and a .924 percentage in the first three rounds of the playoffs.

Hart struggled in the Stanley Cup Final, becoming the first goalie to allow four goals in each of his first five games, forcing Tortorella to defend keeping him in net when he had a champion goalie on the bench.

How the starts are divvied will now be up to Craig and goalies coach Sean Burke, who also have Carl Lindbolm goaltending for the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Henderson, Nevada.

“I think he's on his way to becoming an NHL goaltender, whether that's immediately or needs a little more time," McCrimmon said. "When you look around the league with injuries, with things that happen, every team has to have a No. 3..”

Florida Panthers

Saying goodbye to Sergei Bobrovsky, who got a three-year deal for $21 million from Toronto, Florida acquired Jacob Markstrom from New Jersey and Schmid from Vegas for its tandem. The way the Panthers play, they just need solid goaltending to win.

“We think (Schmid has) got some upside, somebody that we've really liked for some time and we're happy to be able to get him and to fit him into the mix,” Panthers GM Bill Zito said. “(Markstrom is) a veteran guy who has shown excellence and somebody we thought could fit with our team and come in and do his thing. I think the goaltending department is pretty excited and really looking forward to getting to work.”

New Jersey Devils

Moving on from Markstrom, who's 36, before his new contract starts was what new GM Sunny Mehta thought was right at this time. Jake Allen remains, and it seems like the plan is to give 25-year-old Nico Daws a chance to serve as the 1B netminder with the Devils.

“We know what Jake can bring — we’ve seen that — outstanding guy, outstanding goaltender,” Mehta said. “I’m pretty excited about the opportunity in front of Nico because he really hasn’t been given that sort of runway and that path. And I think he has that now.”

Philadelphia Flyers

Dan Vladar is set as the starter, coming off a breakout season backstopping the Flyers to the playoffs and fresh off signing a five-year, $27.5 million extension through 2032. But after Vladar may have been overplayed down the stretch, GM Daniel Briere made a trade last month to get Joseph Woll from Toronto.

“I’m pretty sure that we are going to have great chemistry,” Vladar said. “We are going to need two, if not three, goalies over the next couple of years.”

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Zach Werenski decided in less than an hour to reject a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Dallas Stars.

It took a couple of days, however, for the star defenseman and his team to make sure they were on the same page moving forward.

General manager Don Waddell and Werenski met Wednesday to clear the air and then both issued statements proclaiming all was well, with both sides focusing on the upcoming season.

Waddell said Thursday after the conclusion of Columbus' rookie development camp that Werenski's veto of a trade to Dallas was more about staying with the Blue Jackets than going to the Stars.

The Norris Trophy winner has two years remaining on his contract, including a full no-trade clause this year. That clause gets reduced to 10 teams on July 1, 2027.

“Him and his family have been talking about and thinking about it (being traded) and now you get put where you have to make a decision,” Waddell said. “I thought they might think about it overnight but I got the answer back. It had to be right around an hour that he wants to be a Blue Jacket.”

Multiple reports emerged before last week's NHL draft that Waddell was listening to offers, but things accelerated on Tuesday after Werenski rejected the Dallas deal.

Waddell said Thursday that he has met multiple times with Werenski since the season ended, and that communication between the two sides was good.

“There wasn’t miscommunication between me, him and his agent,” Waddell told reporters. “Nothing against media, but when (the media) gets involved sometimes, there’s a lot of speculation about what’s going on. It was never a situation that we’re on different pages by any means, as far as working against each other.”

Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets' director of player development, and Werenski's agent, Judd Moldaver, also attended Wednesday's meeting.

Werenski — the eighth overall pick by the Blue Jackets in the 2015 draft — won his first Norris Trophy this past season as the NHL’s best defenseman. His 81 points, which included 22 goals, were second at the position.

He tied the franchise record for assists (59) and joined Brian Leetch and Phil Housley as the only American-born defenseman in NHL history to post consecutive 80-point seasons.

Werenski's goal is getting the Blue Jackets into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020. Columbus has come painfully short the past two years, including going 3-9-1 down the stretch this past season.

“We’re going to worry about this year and put the best team on the ice we can and get back in the playoffs,” Waddell said. "We’ll just see how this year goes. Zach made it real clear to me and was very passionate when we met that he wants to be a Blue Jacket.”

With Boone Jenner signing with Washington, Waddell did say there was a possibility that Werenski could be named the Blue Jackets' next captain, but that likely wouldn't be decided until around training camp in September.

Werenski's intentions to stay in Columbus also takes one notable name off what already has been a busy offseason of stars on the move that has included Brady Tkachuk and Sergei Bobrovsky. Detroit's Dylan Larkin, who has the same agent as Werenski, also has made his trade demands known.

Forward Kirill Marchenko, the Blue Jackets' leader in goals the past three seasons, also has two years remaining on his contract and has said he is unlikely to agree to an extension.

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