Czech Extraliga
Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 Czech Extraliga season
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
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| Founded | 1993 |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Country | Czech Republic |
| Most recent champion(s) |
HC Liberec |
| Most titles | VHK Vsetín (6) |
| TV partner(s) | Česká televize |
| Related competitions |
Czech 1.liga Czech 2.liga |
| Official website | www.hokej.cz |
The Czech Extraliga (Czech: Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The league features 14 teams. It is considered as the sixth best ice hockey league in the world.
The name of the league is leased to a general sponsor and changes frequently.
14 teams compete in the league, with the top 6 teams at the end of the regular season play qualifying for the playoffs to determine the league champion, known as the Česká pojišťovna play-off Tipsport extraligy. The teams that finish 7th through 10th play a play-in series (best-of-five) to determine who will join the top six into the playoff quarter-finals (best-of-seven). The four lowest ranked teams (11–14) after the regular season play in a play-out group (12 games, all regular-season matches are counted into the ranking). The two worst placed teams after the play-out group plays with the two semi-finalists of the First League in qualify group,they will play totally 12 matches,(twice home and twice away with every team in group), with the 1st and 2nd placed teams of that group being qualified to play in Extraliga the following season while the 3rd and 4th plays in the First League.
During the 2011–12 season, the association of Czech Extraliga managers attempted to close the league to prevent any relegations to or promoting from the second tier national league and also set a maximum salary cap similar to the NHL system. However, after some legal difficulties and strong opposition by the public, the whole proposition was scratched.
The league was founded in 1993, after the separation of Czechoslovakia put an end to the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League. The first season was won by HC Olomouc, who won the title after defeating HC Pardubice 3 games to 1. HC Slavia Praha and HC Dadák Vsetín were promoted from the First League after beating HC Stadion Hradec Králové and HC Vajgar Jindřichův Hradec in the qualifying series. The 1993-94 season was the only season Vajgar ever participated in the Extraliga, while Hradec Králové would return to the league some twenty years later as Mountfield HK.
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