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Ducks owner ‘optimistic’ about business under new CBA

eemu Selanne,  Corey Perry

Anaheim Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne, right, of Finland, celebrates with Corey Perry (10) after Selanne scored a goal against the Dallas Stars with seconds left in the third period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Wednesday, March 23, 2011. The Ducks won 4-3 in overtime. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

AP

Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli is looking forward to the first full season with the NHL’s new CBA, and says last season’s lockout was a necessary evil if the club ever hoped to stop losing money.

“We’ll know this year for sure what the impact is,” Samueli said in an interview with the OC Register. “We’re optimistic we’ll turn the corner and start heading in the other direction.”

With the new CBA, the Ducks are now eligible to receive revenue-sharing -- something their market size prevented them from getting under the previous deal.

While Samueli has never been a high-profile owner compared to some of his counterparts around the league, he said he regularly pushed NHL commissioner Gary Bettman during negotiations to do what he could to “help the teams in the bottom half of the league get to profitability.”

The Ducks committed $135 million last season to keep star forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry in Anaheim long term -- testament, perhaps, to the optimism Samueli felt coming out of the work stoppage.