.svg) | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| First season | 2008 |
| Ceased | 2009 |
| CEO | Craig Thompson[1] |
| No. of teams | 12(group stage) 14(total) |
| Country | Multiple inEurope |
| Last champion |  ZSC Lions (1) |
| Broadcasters | Europe: various USA:Universal Sports CAN:The Score |
| Related competitions | Victoria Cup |
| Official website | championshockeyleague.com |
TheChampions Hockey League was anice hockey tournament which was launched in 2008 by theInternational Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) after adopting the proposal put forth by Ovation Sports AG, and only played in the2008–09 season. Its creation coincided with the IIHF's 100th anniversary and replaced theIIHF European Champions Cup, the previous competition for Europe's top ice hockey teams.[2] The financial reward for progressing to the CHL Group Stage was a portion of the 16.9 millionSwiss francs that was distributed between the teams with a 1,000,000 Swiss francs[3] bonus going to the winner; the largest monetary reward ever given in any European ice hockey competition.[2]
TheSilver Stone Trophy, which has been awarded to the top club team in European hockey since 1997, was the CHL's championship trophy. Because of contractual problems between the IIHF and CHL investors, the Champions Hockey League was cancelled after only one season had been played.
On December 9, 2013, the IIHF officially announced that they had launcheda new tournament with the same name, born out of the original Champions Hockey League and theEuropean Trophy, starting in the2014–15 season.[4]
The Champions Hockey League was planned to be a best-of-the-best competition contested among the European national club champions and the top runners-up of the best seven hockey leagues, a total of 12 teams. The 12 teams included the champions of the best seven leagues and a second team from each of the best four leagues. The second teams from the leagues placed 5–7, played a qualification tournament over one weekend to determine the twelfth and final participant of the Champions Hockey League.
The following table based on the 2008 IIHF League Ranking[5] gives an overview over the qualification process.
 Russia | Kontinental Hockey League | Two teams in the 2008–09 CHL |
 Finland | SM-liiga | |
 Czech Republic | Czech Extraliga | |
 Sweden | Elitserien | |
 Slovakia | Slovak Extraliga | One team guaranteed in the 2008–09 CHL + one qualifier |
| Switzerland | National League A | |
 Germany | Deutsche Eishockey Liga | |
 Belarus | Belarusian Hockey League | Teams from these leagues had planned to participate in the following season of the CHL (which was never played). |
 Latvia | Latvian Hockey League | |
 Denmark | Oddset Ligaen | |
 Austria | Austrian Hockey League | |
 Kazakhstan | Kazakhstan Hockey Championship | |
 Great Britain | Elite Ice Hockey League | |
 Norway | GET-ligaen | |
 France | Ligue Magnus | |
 Slovenia | Slovenian Ice Hockey League | |
 Italy | Serie A | |
 Hungary | OB I bajnokság | |
 Poland | Polska Liga Hokejowa | |
 Netherlands | Eredivisie | |
 Ukraine | Professional Hockey League | |
 Romania | Liga Națională de hochei |
The CHL was broadcast across Europe on various national TV networks, as well as on the Internet. It could also be watched regularly in some extra-European markets.Universal Sports (part of theNBC Universal group) was the league's broadcaster in the United States, whileThe Score held the Canadian rights.[6]Paul Graham producedThe Sports Network coverage of the Champions Hockey League.[7]
The first edition was played with the top 12 teams from the top seven leagues in Europe. The four top leagues (Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland) were represented with two teams each. The leagues ranked 5-7 (Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany) were represented with one team. A second team from Switzerland (SC Bern), qualified for the main stage by winning a qualifying tournament which was held in September.[8]
The main phase of the CHL consisted of 4 groups with 3 teams each that played home and away games against the two other teams in the group, with the 4 group winners advancing to the semi-finals. In the first semi-final, the two Russian teamsMetallurg Magnitogorsk andSalavat Yulaev Ufa played against each other. After both teams won one game, a penalty shoot-out had to be played to decide the winner. Magnitogorsk was luckier and advanced to the final. In the other semi-final, the SwissZSC Lions played against Finnish teamEspoo Blues. ZSC won both games and qualified for the final.
The first game of the final was played inMagnitogorsk and ended in a 2–2 draw. The decisive second game was played inRapperswil,Switzerland and won 5–0 by theZSC Lions, which became the Champions Hockey League winners.
The Champions League proved to be very popular with the fans and the media, and had larger average attendance than the seven national hockey leagues' regular season games of that season.
It was planned that every year, the Champions Hockey League winner and one team from theNational Hockey League play for the IIHF-runVictoria Cup.[9] Thefirst edition in 2008 was won by theNew York Rangers who beat theIIHF European Champions Cup winners from the previous season,Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Thesecond edition in 2009 saw theZSC Lions defeating theChicago Blackhawks.
TheInternational Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) officially announced on 15 June 2009 the cancellation of the Champions Hockey League for the 2009–10 season, but that it would possibly be resumed in the 2010–11 season, with the possible contribution of theNHL.[10] The continuation of the league was already called into question in January when the IIHF's main investors pulled out of their commitments to back the league for three seasons.[11] Conflict with the NHL also arose when several Russian KHL teams signed Russian players that were under contract with NHL teams.
Some teams were considering legal actions against IIHF for the cancellation of the CHL, because "the clubs have blocked out game dates and C.H.L. participation in their budget-planning consideration", as Gernot Tripcke, the general manager of theDeutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), said.[11] The participating clubs in the 2008–09 season were unanimous in their support for continuing the Champions Hockey League.
On 21 October 2009, the IIHF announced an agreement withHockey Europe to re-launch the CHL during the 2010–11 season, with teams from the 7 top European leagues (although the agreement was cancelled later, see below). Included in the agreement was to be a settlement that would've compensated the clubs that qualified for the cancelled 2009–10 edition.[12]
Due to the contractual problems between the IIHF and their investors, on 25 November 2009, Ovation Sports AG, the founding organization behind the Champions Hockey League, announced that they were discontinuing their efforts and that the league would not continue.[13]
On 9 March 2010, the IIHF announced that they and the European leagues failed to agree on a re-launch of the Champions Hockey League. Therefore, there was no CHL during the 2010–11 season.[14] Thus, the CHL had probably been permanently cancelled.
On 6 December 2010, the IIHF announced that the federation "...invites Europe's top clubs to a repeat of [the] 2008-2009 success of the initial Champions Hockey League". The IIHF Council approved the re-launch of the Champions Hockey League for the 2011–12 season, with the overall planned length of the approved project of 3 seasons.[15] However, on 23 February 2011, the IIHF announced that the Council had decided to postpone the plans for a re-launch of the CHL in the 2011–12 season, due to lack of interest from professional leagues.[16]
The Champions Hockey League was eventually re-launched when on 9 December 2013, the IIHF officially announced that they had launcheda new tournament with the same name, starting in the2014–15 season.
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