It’s now officially one year since Tom Dundon bought 61% of the Carolina Hurricanes from Peter Karmanos. We continue to take a look back at that year, grade the changes he has made and the changes he continues to make in part two of our report card.
Tom Dundon’s plan for the Carolina Hurricanes and returning them to the map is a little over a year into the making. Already we have seen results from his work. In this three part series we are going through and grading the various efforts he has made and the results we have seen thus far. Keep in mind that we are only grading his first year, which ended on the 11th of January 2019.
In the first portion of the three part series we spoke about the influence Tom Dundon had on the positive increase in fan interactions. Also discussed were the effects of his policies on the marketing and promotions teams. If you missed that first part and wish to see how we graded the new Hurricanes owner on these areas before continuing on to part two you can do so here:
While the first part was focused more on the easier, more “slam-dunk”, “empty netter” changes that Tom Dundon has brought into the Carolina Hurricanes franchise when he brought it last season, this part of the series will start to discuss some of the growing pains the new owner has had to experience.
This starts with the in-game experience, and will also dive into Dundon’s hiring decisions when it comes to the two most important employees of a professional hockey organization: the General Manager and the Head Coach.
Again, keep in mind that the grading ended on the 11th of January. So while the last two games on the 11th against Buffalo and the 13th against Nashville bring in new light to the decisions that were made, they are more in part of the grading of his second year in the league. For now, the 365 days of his ownership prior to the 11th will be what we discuss.
Also make sure to keep your eye out for the third and final part of this grading experience. There we will discuss the on-ice results as well as how all the grades fit into a final grade.