Orange County Register

PITTSBURGH — Reached this morning by telephone after landing at Pittsburgh International Airport, Ducks CEO Michael Schulman indicated he has spoken with owner Henry Samueli and said the high-tech magnate and noted philanthroper is pleased with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s decision to end his more than 16-month suspension.

Samueli, 55, was suspended on June 24, 2008 immediately after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission in its investigation into the backdating of stock options at Broadcom Corp., the company he co-founded with Henry T. Nicholas III.

Bettman reinstated Samueli on Thursday. His wife, Susan, will also resume her role as co-owner.

“He’s excited to be back,” Schulman said. “It’s been a long time and he’s ready to continue doing what he was doing before. He’s got a long-term commitment to the team and to the community. I think it’ll be good for all of us to have both Henry and Susan back in the league.”

Samueli has often attended home games but has taken a behind-the-scenes approach since he bought the team for $75 million in 2005. He rarely grants interviews but his hands-off style and his willingness to spend to the salary cap to ice a competitive team has been praised.

While Samueli was suspended from any activities related to the Ducks of the NHL, Schulman ran the day-to-day operations and served as the team’s governor at the league’s owners’ meetings.

“I’ve had a long-term relationship with the Samuelis and I understand pretty clearly their commitment and their direction,” Schulman said. “My job is to implement that. It would have been better to have more input from them but I think I was able to follow the path they want to take.”

Asked what kind of role Samueli will take going forward, Schulman said, “I thnk he’ll resume the role that he had prior to this suspension. He’s not as much involved in the day-to-day aspects but he’s quite involved in the long-term planning of the team.”

The league would not comment on the timing of Samueli’s reinstatment, particularly since he is still awaiting sentencing for his guilty plea in a federal court. U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney rejected a deal where Samueli would have paid $12.25 million in penalties, a $250,000 fine and served five years of probation.

It is possible that Bettman could leave himself open to scrutiny if Samueli must do jail time. His sentencing trial is scheduled for April.

“The 18 months that Henry has served has been long enough,” Bettman said in making the announcement on his radio show. “Henry and his wife, Susan, have been terrific owners and we’re thrilled and delighted to have them back together. Henry is a good man and a good owner.”

It is the only extended comment Bettman has made on his decision.

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