Ranking every dog name and pun from the 2026 'Stanley Pup' - ESPN

The NHL's «Stanley Pup» is a friendly competition featuring adoptable rescue dogs that's airing in the U.S. and Canada on Monday. Many of the participants will be available for adoption through adoption partner Brandywine Valley SPCA.

There will be special appearances by celebrity dog lovers (and in some cases hockey enthusiasts) like Kenan Thompson, Jean Smart, Michael Strahan, Brooke Shields, Flavor Flav and many more at the third edition of this event.

There will also be appearances by NHL players who inspired the names of the Stanley Pup furry friends. And what a collection of names it is: a celebration of dog puns on increasingly absurd and creative levels.

Here is our ranking of all 32 NHL players-as-dog pun names, one for each team. Please note we are not ranking the dogs themselves because that would be cruel and weird. Just the names. Enjoy the Stanley Pup, everyone!

32. Cale Macollar (Colorado Avalanche)

Not a fan of using dog equipment for the pun. Although we do lament the fact that NHL center Rick MacLeish retired well before his name could be used for Stanley Pup contention.

31. Jordan Bone-ington (St. Louis Blues)

Of the several «bone»-related names, we'll clear the crease of this one.

30. Ryan Dognato (Chicago Blackhawks)

Adding a «G» to Donato does not make a classic NHL dog name.

29. Cutter Go-fetch-ier (Anaheim Ducks)

While the aggressive reimagining of Cutter Gauthier into a canine-adjacent name deserves some credit, that's one hyphen too many.

28. Linus Ullbark (Ottawa Senators)

Linus All-bark was right there, people.

27. Nate Schtick (Utah Mammoth)

Incredible name for an opening comic at the Chuckle Hut, not so much here.

26. Adam Howley (Winnipeg Jets)

It shouldn't bother us that this