Orange County Register

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman reinstated Ducks owner Henry Samueli, lifting an indefinite suspension imposed nearly 17 months ago in response to his guilty plea of lying to the Secruities and Exchange Commission.

Bettman suspended Samueli, 55, from all activities involving the Ducks and the league on June 24, 2008 following his plea on one felony count of making a false statement to the SEC, which probed into his involvement in an alleged scheme to backdate stock options at Broadcom Corp., the technology company he co-founded with Henry Nicholas.

Under terms of the suspension, Samueli could not have any involvement in the Ducks or the NHL. His wife, Susan, also returned to active status at co-owner after stepping aside from her role to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

“We welcome Henry and Susan Samueli back as fully reinstated owners and members of the NHL community,” Bettman said in a statement.

Bill Daly, the league’s deputy commissioner, told the Register in an e-mail that there would be no comment on the reasoning behind the decision.

The Samuelis have owned the Ducks since 2005. Ducks CEO Michael Schulman has been in charge of all the club’s day-to-day operations in Henry Samueli’s absence and served as its governor at the NHL owners’ meetings.

In a statement released by the team, Henry Samueli expressed his satisfaction with the league’s decision. 

“Susan and I are very happy to be returning to work with the Ducks,” Samueli said. “We are thankful to have had great leadership in place that successfully operated the team during this time and look forward to re-establishing contact with the organization.

“Our goal remains the same – to be a championship-caliber organization both on and off the ice. We are also pleased to be able to return to a more active role in the many philanthropic efforts that the Ducks have undertaken throughout the Southern California community.”

Ducks general manager Bob Murray said he hasn’t spoken with the Samuelis but is glad that they will again be involved with running the team.

“We’ve had no contact with Henry or Susan for so long,” Murray said. ”The coaches and players love having them around. We like when they come into the dressing room.

“I’m sure when we get back from this trip, he’ll have hundreds of questions about the team and I’ll do my best to answer all of them.”

The Ducks have had their greatest sustained success since the Samuelis bought the team for $75 million. They’ve made a club-record four consecutive postseason appearances and won their only Pacific Division title in 2006-07.

Lauded for their hands-off approach, the Samuelis have allowed the Ducks to spend near the NHL salary cap and be aggressive in the free-agent market each season in order to put a competitive team on the ice. 

Upon learning of Samueli’s reinstatment, Toronto Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke was pleased with the development regarding his former boss.

“That’s wonderful news,” said Burke, who ran the Ducks’ 2007 Stanley Cup champion as Murray’s predecessor. “Every general manager should be fortunate enough to work for the Samuelis.”

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