Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga ( " German Ice Hockey League " , shortname DEL ) is a German professional ice hockey league that was founded in 1994 . It was formed as a replacement for the Ice hockey Bundesliga and is now known as DEL - Die 1 . Bundesliga . Unlike the old Bundesliga , the DEL is not under the administration of the German Ice Hockey Federation . The DEL currently has the highest number of American and Canadian players outside of North America . History . The Ice hockey Bundesliga ( English : " Federal Ice Hockey League " ) was formed in 1957 as the elite hockey competition in the Federal Republic of Germany , replacing the " Oberliga " in this position . It was in turn replaced by the " DEL " , which now also carries the name " 1st Bundesliga " in its logo . The DEL was founded in the 1994 – 95 season , made up of teams from the ice hockey " Bundesliga ' s " 1st and 2nd division . The condition of this earlier leagues had become intolerable : many of the 1st and 2nd division teams were heavily in debt , while the 2nd division attracted few sponsors and spectators ; thus many clubs were forced to fold or withdraw to the lower leagues . Fans and corporate sponsors focus on the 1st Bundesliga teams forced the elite teams to invested heavily in players to avoid relegation , raising the budgets 25 % over the last two years . In the last Bundesliga season 1993 – 94 , only 11 teams wanted to play in the " 2nd Bundesliga " . Furthermore , two teams folded during the season and after season ' s end . Ice hockeys reputation in Germany was heavily tarnished and this made it difficult to attract serious sponsorship . Mid January 1994 , 20 out of the remaining 21 1st and 2nd Bundesliga teams voted for creating a new entity , the DEL . Upon founding , the " DEL Betriebsgesellschaft mbH " was the first German professional sports league managed by an organization whose members where incorporated as well . The goal behind the DEL was to create a league , based on the model of the North American NHL , in which the teams could play consistently without relegation concerns and create a stable league . The clubs in the " DEL " were required to conform to rules that were designed to ensure long - term viability . Twelve clubs from the old " 1st Bundesliga " , and six from the " 2nd Bundesliga " came together as founding members . The new league immediately attracted corporate sponsorship with the Krombacher Brewery who was prominently featured on the new league logo . The hope to be able to avoid the troubles of the old " Bundesliga " by stricter financial controls did not materialize . During DEL ' s first season , on December 18 , 1994 the " Bundesliga ' s " last champion , the renamed " EC Hedos München " , folded . This was controversial , as DEL ' s president Franz Hofherr approved their license certifying their finances . Hofherr was Mad Dogs former president and it was alleged that he must have known about their desperate financial situation . The Bosman ruling , a 1995 decision of the European Court of Justice regarding the movement of labor in soccer , had profound influence on the league . The old Bundesliga had national character with German clubs competing for the German title using mostly German players . After the ruling European Union players were excluded from the " foreign " player quota . In the 1995 – 96 season following the decision , the DEL teams employed 97 EU players lowering their costs significantly , thus enabling the smaller teams to compete more effectively . However , the ensuing frequent player moves were not viewed positively by the fans , resulting in smaller attendance numbers . Following an agreement with the DEB the league renamed itself to " DEL - Die 1 . Bundesliga " in the 1999 – 2000 season , while reintroducing relegation and promotion to / from the 2nd Ice Hockey Bundesliga . The 2004 – 05 season was significant due to the NHL lockout . Among the 22 NHL players came to play the season in the DEL were Erik Cole , Stéphane Robidas , Doug Weight , Mike York and several German national team players - - Jochen Hecht , Olaf Kölzig , and Marco Sturm . Current teams . There are currently 14 teams playing in the DEL . League regulations . The DEL is an independently run league , fully owned and operated by its 15 member teams . Each team must fulfill the " DEL ' s " basic requirements to remain in the league : The DEL can only admit one 2nd Bundesliga team per season to the league , unless the league strength falls below fourteen , in which case two clubs can be admitted . Since the 2006 – 07 season , no DEL team can be automatically relegated , a team can only lose its league status through non - compliance with the leagues regulations ( see above ) . From the 2008 – 09 season on , each DEL club will only be allowed to have ten non - EEC players under contract . The " ESBG " guarantees to admit any DEL team wishing to step down to the lower 2nd Bundesliga or Oberliga . The team , however , has to purchase a license ( licensing fees for the 2nd Bundesliga are currently set at € 100 , 000 . 00 ) . To regulate the relationship between the DEL , the " DEB " and the " ESBG " ( 2nd Bundesliga ) , a so called " Kooperationsvertrag " exists . This " cooperation contract " was signed in December 2005 . , and is valid until 2011 . This contract ended years of dispute between the three organizations over competencies and financial issues . In November 2007 , the DEL announced another change in policy . The league expanded to allow 16 teams beginning in the 2008 – 09 season , resulting in direct promotion for the 2nd Bundesliga league champions , should they fulfill all requirements and be interested in joining the DEL . Should this not be the case , or a current DEL team resigns from the league , a selection process would determine the club , or clubs , who would be eligible to join in order required to archive 16 teams . " ( Note : Füchse Duisburg resigned before the 2009 - 2010 season and was not replaced until the following season . ) " Additionally , a new format for the game schedule will limit the number of regular season games to 52 for each team . This is achieved by each team playing four games against eleven others and two games against the remaining four . To determine which teams play which , the final standings of the previous season are used . The DEL would also reintroduce promotion once more . The first - and second - lowest ranked teams will play a best - of - seven series to determine which team faces the 2nd Bundesliga champion for a place in the league . There is , however , an ongoing dispute about those games as second division teams may only have five foreign players on contract , and therefore face a handicap in comparison to the DEL teams with twelve import players each . For now , the " ESBG " has declared that no team from the 2nd Bundesliga would take part in these matches and therefore no promotion / relegation with the DEL will take place . DEL seasons . DEL standings . 30 clubs have played in the DEL since founding , with 15 currently playing . Since 2007 , 10 clubs have qualified for the play offs . The 1994 standing represents the 1st / 2nd Bundesliga .