In rare comments, Ducks owner Henry Samueli discusses Joel Quenneville, spending, a playoff push

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ANAHEIM, Calif. – Long content to stay in the background, Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli stepped into the spotlight on Thursday when his team introduced Joel Quenneville as the 12th head coach in franchise history.

In this moment, Samueli needed to address Quenneville’s return to the NHL after a three-and-a-half-year exile — much of that under a league-levied ban before his reinstatement last July — as punishment for his inactive role in the Chicago Blackhawks’ sexual assault scandal. Samueli discussed how he arrived at a comfort level in hiring the second-winningest coach in NHL history, but one whose hiring has brought sharp criticism from some.

Samueli, the 70-year-old Orange County philanthropist who now has owned the Ducks for 20 years, also took the opportunity to talk big about raised expectations and giving Quenneville and general manager Pat Verbeek the tools to meet them. It was notable because Samueli rarely does interviews about his team.

After seven seasons without playoff hockey — the longest stretch in franchise history — Samueli wants back in the chase for the Stanley Cup.

“That is the pressure we’re putting on both Pat and Joel,” he said. “They know that the fans and the ownership expect to make the playoffs this (next) season. There’s a lot of pressure to put on a coach and a GM. But you got to do it.”

That was music to Troy Terry’s ears. The winger is about to enter his eighth NHL season but he has yet to appear in a playoff game. But he heard Samueli say that he’ll support Quenneville and management with financial commitment for any roster upgrades that are necessary.

“It means everything,” Terry said. “I have been here, and I’ve been through trade deadlines where we trade everyone that I’m close with that’s on expiring contracts. And that’s just kind of been the reality of where our team is and what needed to be done.

“And now, kind of ride that whole process out and now having a big jump last year where we still think there’s obviously a lot more to build on, to just kind of see the whole evolution and this hiring of a coach and just the commitment to really starting to make this thing go now and have big goals just going into next year.

“It’s exciting for me. That’s what I’ve been looking forward to since I came into the NHL — to have those opportunities.”

Here are some additional highlights of Samueli’s 13-minute media session, which have been lightly edited for brevity.

On any concern over the optics of hiring Quenneville

“(My wife) Susan and I have built a reputation in this community, hopefully a good one. Obviously preserving that is really important. We know that there will be negative comments on social media, but to us it’s most important that we maintain our integrity. Did we do a thorough investigation? Are we comfortable with Joel and his current state of health and being and mental wellness? And we are comfortable. Very comfortable. We’re really not overly worried that it’s going to become a problem.

“Yes, we’ll hear negatives. Fine. We’ll deal with it. And I fully respect people who have negative opinions or going to have negative comments. There’s a lot of people who are victims of abuse, and I have nothing but the most respect for them. We’ll listen and try to convince them that we really did go through a thorough process and that Joel really is a good person who happened to make a mistake. I feel comfortable that we can deal with the situation.”

On not hiring another coach without Quenneville’s baggage

“First of all, as you’ve heard a million times, you can’t argue with his record. A younger coach, there’s risk. They may have great experience, but do they really have that track record in the NHL? So going with somebody who’s been in the NHL, second-winningest coach all the time, he doesn’t have to prove his capabilities. We know his capabilities.

“And then we looked at his prior record of working with teams who were in a very similar situation as the Ducks. A lot of young talent ready to break out. And he’s done it twice. He did it in Chicago and in Florida, although he didn’t carry it all the way through in Florida, but we see how great of a team they’ve turned out to be. So, the fact that he has a historical record of greatness, but he’s also being put in a position where he’s been in twice before and succeeded twice before lowered the risk for us, and that’s the reason you would go with him.”

On the team’s plans in working with sexual abuse survivors and advocacy groups

“As Pat mentioned (during the news conference), we’re already very deeply involved in the community. Susan, in fact in the foundation, does work with sexual (assault and) human trafficking. So many organizations we’re working with in the abuse area. And, so, the connections are already made. It would be very easy for us to introduce Joel to those folks, and he can get more involved on the philanthropic side with what we’re doing in our foundation. It will happen. And I’m very confident that Joel will be a star when it comes to working with those organizations.”

On where the Ducks are at in their evolution

“It has been a long, painful process, but we felt that we’ve reached a point where the rebuild is coming to an end. It really is. And it’s time to take the step to becoming a perennial playoff contender and eventually Stanley Cup contender. We said, ‘Look, if we want to take that step, we really should bring in a coach who’s been there, done that.’ And that was one of the main reasons for wanting to bring someone like a Joel Quenneville in, because we felt comfortable that he could take us from the end of a rebuild to the beginning of a playoff era.

“We were a perennial playoff team. Five-time division champion. We’ve been through that, so we know what it’s like and you miss it. And I miss it personally, going to playoff games. So that’s one reason we were willing to write a much bigger check this time around than in the past, because bringing in someone of Joel’s stature obviously going cost more money. But we’re willing to make that investment into the team. And then we’ve told Pat, same thing when going out and looking for players. You will have the budget you need to make this a serious playoff team and you don’t have to pinch pennies anymore. Do what it takes to make this a good team.”

On allowing Verbeek to spend to a salary cap that is rising ($95.5 million in 2025-26)

“If necessary. He’s going to spend wisely. We’re not going to write stupid checks. But I told him, you do what it takes to make this a really steady perennial playoff contender and Stanley Cup contender down the road. And if it means signing big-name free agents, go for it. We told him going forward you will not be constrained by the budget.”

(Photo of Henry Samueli at the 2024 NHL Draft: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

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