DEL and DEL2 agree on relegation from 2017-18 onwards

10 Sep 2015Dennis Mende»

On Tuesday DEL chairman Gernot Tripcke and DEL2 chairman René Rudorisch sigend an agreement that could bring relegation back to DEL in 2 years.

The two highest German professional men\'s hockey leagues made an important step towards the reintroduction of relegation. The DEL2 clubs agreed to accept any conditions given by the DEL to qualify for promotion. This includes a certain arena quality and financial guarantees similar to the ones the DEL members had to pay to get into the league.

If everything works according to the plan, 2017-18 marks the first season since 2005-06 that a team can get promotion to DEL on the ice and not because of financial difficulties of a DEL team. The last team to make it to the highest German league this way was Straubing - almost a decade ago.

With this agreement DEL is not only giving the teams of the lower divisions a realistic opportunity to make their way up to the top level, but they are also giving the hockey fans in Germany who were in favour of a relegation system finally their wish and make hockey in Germany far more exciting.

Relevant links

Current events

External links

Hockey Results

Tweets by @eurohockey

Leagues

Czech Rep.: Tipsport extraliga | 1.liga | 2.liga

Finland: Liiga | Mestis

Germany: DEL | DEL2

Russia: KHL | VHL

Slovakia: Tipsport Extraliga | 1.liga

Sweden: SHL | HockeyAllsvenskan

Switzerland: NLA | NLB

More league pages»

League standings

Game fixtures

League leaders

Continental Cup 2025–26: a new look with a six-team final

A tournament in transition: from four to six finalists. The 2025–26 IIHF Continental Cup will introduce a fresh twist to its long-running format, as this year’s competition will conclude with a six-team final for the first time in its history. ... Read more»

Swedish champions start the preseason with a tournament win

Luleå beat Kärpät and Modo to win the Umeå Hockey Cup in Visionite Arena. Read more»