Deutsche Eishockey Liga

This article's lead section may be too long. Please read the length guidelines and help move details into the article's body. (February 2022)

DEL

Upcoming season or competition: 2024–25 DEL season
Formerly	Eishockey-Bundesliga
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1994; 30 years ago (1994)
No. of teams	14
Country	Germany
Most recent champion(s)	Eisbären Berlin (10th title) (2023–24)
Most titles	Eisbären Berlin (10 titles)
TV partner(s)	Magenta Sport ServusTV/DF1
Level on pyramid	Level 1
Relegation to	DEL2
International cup(s)	Champions Hockey League
Related competitions	DEL2 Oberliga
Official website	penny-del.org

The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga) (German pronunciation: [ˌdɔʏtʃə ˈʔaɪshɔkiː ˌliːɡaː]; English: German Ice Hockey League) or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. 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.

Teams from the DEL participate in the IIHF's annual Champions Hockey League (CHL), competing for the European Trophy. Participation is based on the strength of the various leagues in Europe (excluding the European/Asian Kontinental Hockey League). Going into the 2022–23 CHL season, the DEL was ranked the No. 3 league in Europe, allowing them to send their top four teams to compete in the CHL.

In the 2016–17 season, the league was the second-best supported ice hockey league in Europe, behind the Swiss National League A, with an average attendance of 6,198 spectators per game.^[1] Fifteen different teams comprise the league, playing their home games in a diverse mix of venues, including a few large, modern arenas (e.g. in Berlin, Mannheim, Cologne, and Düsseldorf) and older, smaller venues (e.g. in Bietigheim, Schwenningen, and Straubing). Kölner Haie (English: Cologne Sharks), Düsseldorfer EG, and Eisbären Berlin (Berlin Polar Bears) all regularly attract over 15,000 fans for home games. Adler Mannheim (Mannheim Eagles) also regularly attract over 12,000 fans per home game with each of their home games in the 2019 DEL Playoffs, including all three games in the final series against EHC Red Bull München, selling out. Despite attracting some of the biggest crowds in the DEL, and hosting NHL teams in preseason games, Kölner Haie have not won a championship since 2002.

In the DEL Winter Game, similar to the NHL Winter Classic where matches are played in larger outdoor venues, Cologne and Düsseldorf have played in front of crowds in excess of 40,000, notably in 2019 as Düsseldorf won in overtime in rival Cologne's RheinEnergieStadion. The DEL Winter Game traditionally takes place every two years; four editions have been played since 2013, including games in Cologne and at the home of TSG Hoffenheim, with each attracting over 30,000 spectators. Following a 2021 postponement due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the DEL Winter Game is set to return in December 2022 with Cologne hosting Mannheim in the RheinEnergieStadion.

The DEL is known for its game-day atmosphere, as well as producing NHL talents including Dominik Kahun, Tim Stutzle and Lukas Reichel. Many of the German national team that took silver at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang played in the DEL, while EHC Red Bull München became the first German team to reach the Champions Hockey League final in 2019, losing to the Swedish team Frölunda HC. EHC Red Bull München followed this up by reaching the semi-finals in the 2021-22 Champions Hockey League. Ice hockey is growing as a sport in Germany and is seen as a popular alternative to football or handball, building upon the Olympic success in 2018.

A new system of promotion and relegation with the DEL2 began with the 2021–22 season, in which the last-placed DEL club will be replaced by the DEL2 champions. SC Bietigheim Steelers joined the DEL for the 2021-22 DEL season as DEL2 champions ahead of the first promotion/relegation to DEL2. Following the conclusion of the 2021–22 season, Bietigheim retained their place in the top flight while Krefeld Pinguine were relegated after finishing bottom of the table. Löwen Frankfurt (Frankfurt Lions) will be promoted as DEL2 champions for the 2022–23 season.

The DEL Playoffs determine the season champions in a similar format to the NHL. Each team plays 52 regular-season games to determine the regular-season champions before the top 10 teams are seeded and qualify for the playoffs. The top 6 teams receive a bye to the quarter-finals while the teams ranked 7–10 compete in the pre-playoff (wildcard) round. The seedings are re-calculated after each round in a straight knockout system. The DEL Finals, held in late April or early May, is a best-of-seven games format, similarly to the NHL where the top seed remaining holds home-field advantage in a Game 7 scenario.

For the 2021–22 season and 2020–21 season, a shortened version of the DEL playoffs was used in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eisbären Berlin won the 2022 Finals against EHC Red Bull München 3-1 in a best-of-5 format. Berlin also won the title in 2021, defeating Wolfsburg 2-1 in a best-of-3 series following a North/South regional league split during the 2020/21 season due to the pandemic.

The Eisbären Berlin and Adler Mannheim are the most successful DEL clubs and have won the last three editions between them (Mannheim 2019, Berlin 2021 & 2022). Mannheim have enjoyed a lot of success in recent years (2015 and 2019 Champions, 2021 Regular Season Champions) although EHC Red Bull München won three consecutive titles between 2016 and 2018 and also made the 2019 final, losing to Mannheim in five games. München were also top of the 2020 standings before the season was curtailed. ERC Ingolstadt (2014 Champions as the 9th seed) and Grizzlys Wolfsburg (2021 runners-up) have also enjoyed deep playoff runs in the last decade.

Some of the league's biggest rivalries include Kölner Haie and Düsseldorfer EG, Kölner Haie and Adler Mannheim, and Eisbären Berlin and EHC Red Bull München. The Bavarian Derbies between München, ERC Ingolstadt, Augsburger Panther, Straubing Tigers, and Nürnberg Ice Tigers are also fiercely contested. Due to geography, Nürnberg/Straubing and Augsburg/Ingolstadt are notable rivalries although Munich/Augsburg has become a stronger rivalry following their epic 2019 semi-final series. München won that series in the deciding game 7 which also included the longest match in DEL history, won by Augsburger Panther after 104 minutes of action in game 3, as two matches required three overtimes to determine a winner.