Deutsche Eishockey Liga


The Deutsche Eishockey Liga or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league that was founded in 1994. It was formed as a replacement for the Eishockey-Bundesliga and became the new top-tier league in Germany as a result. Unlike the old Bundesliga, the DEL is not under the administration of the German Ice Hockey Federation.
In the 2016–17 season the league was the second-best supported in Europe, behind the Swiss National League A, with an average attendance of 6,198 spectators per game.

History

The Eishockey-Bundesliga was formed in 1957 as the elite hockey competition in the Federal Republic of Germany, replacing the Oberliga in this position. It was in turn replaced by the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, which now also carries the name 1st Bundesliga in its logo.
The DEL was founded in the 1994–95 season, consisting of teams from the Eishockey-Bundesliga's 1st and 2nd divisions. The condition of these earlier leagues had become intolerable. Many 1st and 2nd division teams were heavily in debt. The 2nd division attracted few sponsors and spectators. As a result, many clubs were forced to fold or withdraw to the lower leagues. Fans and corporate sponsors focused on the 1st Bundesliga teams, forcing the elite teams to invest heavily in players to avoid relegation. This increased budgets 25 percent over the previous two years.
In the final Bundesliga season, 1993–94, only 11 teams wanted to play in the 2nd Bundesliga. Furthermore, two teams folded during and after the season. Ice hockey's reputation in Germany was heavily tarnished. This made it difficult to attract serious sponsorship. In January 1994, 20 out of the remaining 21 1st and 2nd Bundesliga teams voted for creating a new entity, the DEL.
Upon founding, the "DEL Betriebsgesellschaft mbH" was the first German professional sports league managed by an organization whose members were incorporated as well. The goal behind the DEL was to create a league, based on the model of the North American NHL, in which teams could play consistently without relegation concerns and create a stable league. Clubs in the DEL were required to conform to [|rules], which were designed to ensure long-term viability. Twelve clubs from the old 1st Bundesliga, and six from the 2nd Bundesliga came together as founding members. The new league immediately attracted corporate sponsorship with the Krombacher Brewery, which was prominently featured on the new league logo.
The hope of avoiding the troubles of the old Bundesliga by stricter financial controls did not materialize. During DEL's initial season, on 18 December 1994, the Bundesliga's final champion, the renamed EC Hedos München, folded. This was controversial, as DEL's president Franz Hofherr had approved their license and certified their finances. Hofherr was Mad Dogs former president and it was alleged that he must have known about their desperate financial situation.
The Bosman ruling, a 1995 decision of the European Court of Justice regarding the movement of labor in soccer, had profound influence on the league. The old Bundesliga had national character with German clubs competing for the German title using mostly German players. After the ruling European Union players were excluded from the "foreign" player quota. In the 1995–96 season following the decision, the DEL teams employed 97 EU players. This lowered costs significantly, enabling smaller teams to compete more effectively. However, frequent player moves were not viewed positively by the fans, resulting in smaller attendance numbers.
Following an agreement with the DEB the league renamed itself as "DEL – Die 1. Bundesliga" in the 1999–2000 season, while reintroducing relegation and promotion to/from the 2nd Ice Hockey Bundesliga.
The 2004–05 season was significant due to the NHL lockout. 26 NHL players came to play the season in the DEL, including Jamie Langenbrunner, Erik Cole, Stéphane Robidas, Doug Weight, Mike York and several German national team players – Jochen Hecht, Olaf Kölzig, and Marco Sturm.

League regulations

The DEL is an independently run league, fully owned and operated by its 14 member teams. Each team must fulfill the DEL's basic requirements to remain in the league:
The DEL can only admit one 2nd Bundesliga team per season to the league, unless the league strength falls below fourteen, in which case two clubs can be admitted. Since the 2006–07 season, no DEL team can be automatically relegated, a team can only lose its league status through non-compliance with the leagues regulations.
The ESBG guarantees to admit any DEL team wishing to step down to the lower 2nd Bundesliga or Oberliga. The team, however, has to purchase a license.
To regulate the relationship between the DEL, the DEB and the ESBG, a so-called Kooperationsvertrag exists. This cooperation contract was signed in December 2005, and was valid until 2011. This contract ended years of dispute between the three organizations over competencies and financial issues.
In November 2007, the DEL announced another change in policy. The league expanded to allow 16 teams beginning in the 2008–09 season, resulting in direct promotion for the 2nd Bundesliga league champions, should they fulfill all requirements and be interested in joining the DEL. Should this not be the case, or a current DEL team resigns from the league, a selection process would determine the club, or clubs, who would be eligible to join in order required to achieve 16 teams.
For that season, it was also mandated that each DEL club would be allowed to have no more than ten non-EC players under contract.
Additionally, a new format for the game schedule will limit the number of regular season games to 52 for each team. This is achieved by each team playing four games against eleven others and two games against the remaining four. To determine which teams play which, the final standings of the previous season are used.
The DEL would also reintroduce promotion once more. The first- and second-lowest ranked teams will play a best-of-seven series to determine which team faces the 2nd Bundesliga champion for a place in the league. There is, however, an ongoing dispute about those games as second division teams may only have five foreign players on contract, and therefore face a handicap in comparison to the DEL teams with twelve import players each. For now, the ESBG has declared that no team from the 2nd Bundesliga would take part in these matches and therefore no promotion/relegation with the DEL will take place.

Teams

Members of the 2020–21 DEL season.
TeamCityArenaCapacity
Augsburger PantherAugsburgCurt Frenzel Stadium6,218
Eisbären BerlinBerlinMercedes-Benz Arena14,200
Fischtown PinguinsBremerhavenEisarena Bremerhaven4,674
Düsseldorfer EGDüsseldorfISS Dome13,400
ERC IngolstadtIngolstadtSaturn Arena4,815
Iserlohn RoostersIserlohnEissporthalle Iserlohn5,000
Kölner HaieCologneLanxess Arena18,500
Krefeld PinguineKrefeldKönig Palast9,000
Adler MannheimMannheimSAP Arena13,600
EHC Red Bull MünchenMunichOlympia Eishalle6,256
Nürnberg Ice TigersNurembergArena Nürnberger Versicherung7,810
Schwenninger Wild WingsVillingen-SchwenningenHelios Arena6,215
Straubing TigersStraubingEisstadion am Pulverturm6,000
Grizzlys WolfsburgWolfsburgEis Arena Wolfsburg4,660

Former teams

later BSchC Preussen, dissolved 2005
refounded as Eissport & Schlittschuh Club 2007 Berlin
dissolved 5 July 2010 due to bankruptcy
now Lausitzer Füchse
ceased operations 24 May 2016
now Hannover Indians
dissolved 27 August 2010 due to bankruptcy
dissolved 1994 due to bankruptcy
relocated in 2002 to become Hamburg Freezers
relocated in 1997 to become Revierlöwen Oberhausen

Past champions

32 clubs have played in the DEL since founding, with 14 currently playing. The 1994 standing represents the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga.
ClubNo.9495969798990001020304050607080910111213141516171819207
EHC München59811127211121
Eisbären Berlin261BL171741213137112192113148928294
Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers252BL1211151211054523431551013738633108
ERC Ingolstadt17127524101276269387457
Adler Mannheim261BL3614351246610164974141102512
Kölner Haie261BL612351262445531510992511746411
Grizzlys Wolfsburg13131373131067457129
Iserlohn Roosters 11915129121111115111112101310631381313
Fischtown Pinguins310976
Schwenninger Wild Wings161BL95109101112161413141412101414
Düsseldorfer EG 6241BL539511938103293627141455111165
Augsburger Panther252BL131211138814811971213121081488111212612310
Straubing Tigers131214131313691213991383
Krefeld Pinguine261BL47811739361098101161241232101314141112
Hamburg Freezers 21483867781411551411
Hannover Scorpions171471197101013127682451411
Frankfurt Lions162BL108122471011135198492
Kassel Huskies142BL79310944571114131415
EV Duisburg414141516
Wölfe Freiburg114
Revierlöwen Oberhausen5141414613
Moskitos Essen3151614
Preussen Berlin81BL1258136815
Munich Barons 2 33231
Starbulls Rosenheim 161BL8136151212
Landshut Cannibals 351BL24766
Ratinger Löwen31BL161016
ESV Kaufbeuren31BL111513
SC Riessersee114
Hannover Indians22BL1416
Lausitzer Füchse22BL1518
Maddogs München 411BL18

Color codeResult
GoldPlay-off champion
SilverPlay-off finalist
GreenSemi finalist
Blue1st round
PurplePreliminary round
WhiteDid not qualify for play-offs
RedFolded during regular season or relegated to DEL2
BoldRegular season champion
ItalicsPlay-offs not conducted
No.Number of seasons in league