Metal Ligaen
Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 Metal Ligaen season
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1954 |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country | Denmark |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Esbjerg (7) |
| Most titles | Herning (16) |
| Qualification | SønderjyskE Ishockey |
| TV partner(s) | TV2 Sport |
| Official website | metalligaen |
Metal Ligaen is the premier league in Danish ice hockey. The league consists of 10 professional teams. The name of the league has changed many times, but is being sponsored by Dansk Metal and therefore got the name Metalligaen.
It is also known as Superisligaen or Eliteserien, which is the name used in the past and in times where no naming rights agreement is in place. On January 1, 2014 Danish Metal (Dansk Metal) became the sponsor of the Danish ice hockey league, which changed the name to Metal Ligaen, replacing the previous name AL-Bank Ligaen which was named for the sponsorship deal with the Danish bank Arbejdernes Landsbank.
The Danish Icehockey league has become one of the better leagues in Europe, often compared to leagues such as the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan and the DEL2. The league is more of a springboard for foreign players and a place to start their European careers, before traveling to other bigger leagues such as the Swedish Hockey League or DEL. The teams rely mostly on foreign talent, but there is still a lot of skilled professional Danish players. It is mostly the older Danish players, who are full-time professional. Most younger players are semi-professional because of the tight economy in Danish hockey and most of the money is spend on more talented foreign players.
In the past, the league has consisted of as many as 10 teams. Despite the introduction of a salary cap as well as a limit to the number of import players allowed, several teams have struggled financially in recent years. As a result, the Herlev Hornets and the Rungsted Cobras have withdrawn from the league, reducing the number of active teams from 10 to 8. Teams from the second tier league were offered the empty spots, but no team were able to accept the offer, citing financial issues as their main concern.
n January 9, 2015 TV2 Sport debuted as a new sports channel on Danish TV. Same day, HockeyNight also aired for the first time, with a match between Odense Bulldogs and Rungsted. Since 2015 TV2 Sport has been the place to watch icehockey and other sports.
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