NHL ignores German ice hockey plans: No desire for cooperation

The German Ice Hockey League, whose season starts on Thursday, sees itself in a never-ending boom. Your boss Gernot Tripcke cited all sorts of nice numbers as evidence before the start, which was contested by champions Eisbären Berlin and Straubing. For example, the league's total turnover increased by 3 million euros to 198 million euros. The 200 million mark is expected to be broken for the first time next year. “It’s a nice incentive,” says Tripcke. There will also be a world championship in Düsseldorf and Mannheim next May, which everyone is looking forward to.

However, there is also a topic that Tripcke and some DEL club bosses are not comfortable with: The National Hockey League (NHL), the best ice hockey league in the world, poaches quite recklessly in the carefully guarded DEL realms.

At first it sounds wonderful. As part of the Global Series, the NHL, as it recently announced, will be bringing Cologne superstar Leon Draisaitl to the arena in Cologne in 2027 for two games with the Edmonton Oilers. At the same time, the Boston Bruins, coached by former national coach Marco Sturm, will have national player J.J. Playing Peterka in Munich. The German public's interest in world-class ice hockey is proven to be great. The two games of the Ottawa Senators with the German national player Tim Stützle, which will take place in Düsseldorf on December 18th and 20th this year, were sold out within a few minutes when sales started.

However, there is a problem that not only annoys Tripcke: the alleged bulldozing behavior of the American guests, who apparently only act according to the law of the strongest. "They announced their games, in isolation, without consulting the clubs, us or the DEB. This goes according to schedule against 28 professional clubs here in Germany," says Tripcke - and: "Even after the games in Munich and Cologne were announced, there was no further contact, nothing happened." Everything is done through major international marketers.

Of course, the NHL picks the best dates for its appearances, namely the time before Christmas, when interest in ice hockey is traditionally particularly high. The planners don't seem to care that there are games taking place in the DEL at the same time, which may be deprived of attention and visitors. Although it has not yet been confirmed, the NHL wants to do the honors in December next year, as we can hear.

For the Kölner Haie, the DEL spectator champion with an average of 18,000 spectators, this would mean that no home game would be possible in their arena in the Deutz district for at least a week.

It's not just about the actual NHL game dates. In addition, the ice surface must first be reduced to the North American format and then restored to European dimensions - which takes three to four days each time. In addition, the arena is traditionally well booked with other events during this time.

Nobody has spoken to the club; the NHL only negotiated with the arena, which belongs neither to the Haie nor the city of Cologne, but to a consortium of Asian investors. In Munich the situation is more comfortable because the new arena belongs to a subsidiary of the club's owner - and the income therefore remains in the family.

From an economic perspective, NHL games are very profitable. At the Düsseldorf games, the cheapest tickets cost around 90 euros, with prices quickly going up to 380 euros. At the KEC, however, it starts at around 24 euros, while seat tickets for the highest categories are around 60 euros.

There are always nice things to be heard from North America: the presence promotes ice hockey, encourages young talent to achieve high goals - and so on. However, the best ice hockey league in the world has not yet concluded an official cooperation with the DEL, champions Eisbären Berlin or the Kölner Haien, but rather with the German soccer champions Bayern Munich, the German sports club with the widest reach.

The motives seem clear: While the NHL wants to expand its popularity and business in Germany, FC Bayern wants to promote its brand more strongly in North America. Both could actually benefit from this collaboration. Tripcke doesn't see such a win-win situation for his sport - he says: "At the moment it is completely isolated and completely removed from German ice hockey."