Champions Hockey League

It came to my attention that last year the NHL Board of Govenors discussed expansion of the NHL. But not in North America, in Europe. I like this idea and maybe in another post I'll detail how I think the NHL should expand into Europe. However, I am not going to talk about this today. I want to talk about the Champions Hockey League.

A week or so ago I was watching some Champions League (soccer) matches and wondered why the various hockey leagues in Europe didn't have a comparable league. I did some digging and found out that the Champions Hockey League is starting in October of 2008. This league, or tournament, will pit the best 24 club teams against one another in a two round qualification stage, a two round group stage, and then semi-finals and finals. I got excited about the prospect of seeing Swedish Elite teams running against Russian Super teams. Then I looked at the details and was a little deflated.

What I was hoping for was an extra post-season attached to all of the European leagues that would decide the European champion. This currently exists as the IIHF European Champions Cup. The participants in 2008 were Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RSL), MODO Hockey (SEL), HC Slovan Bratislava (Slovak EL), Karpat (Finish SML), HC Sparta Prague (CEL), and HC Davos (Swiss A League). The teams play a round robin format followed by a championship game. Metallurg Magnitogorsk defeated HC Sparta Prague. (Note: During the four years of this competition, it was hosted each time in St. Petersburg and it was always won by a Russian team.)

This is to be replaced by the Champions Hockey League. Here are the problems that I see with this league. It runs concurrently with the national level hockey leagues similar to the soccer Champions League. The problem I see here is what is the goal of the team? Is it to win the SEL Championship or to win the CHL Championship? Will players be held back? What does it mean for NHL prospects playing in European leagues? The second problem I have is that it lasts from October through January. It is a separate league, not a tournament. Some of the problems of one club team belonging to multiple leagues is listed above but is not exhaustive. A third problem I have is that the teams playing in the 2008 Champions season are determined by the results of the 2007 club season. The winner of the 2008 Champions league may not be the best team in Europe and may not even resemble the team from 2007, when it qualified.

There are some good points, to be sure. The long time frame would get fans more involved. It would also allow for more exposure and awareness of the quality of play. The additional games allows the purse to be larger for the participants. This should ensure a high level of quality of games.

Perhaps I have a bias against the club team system prevalent in Europe. There are more things that I dislike about the Champions Hockey League that I like. However, I will still take any pan-European play over no pan-European play. I would favor a European division of the NHL over both of these options. Stay tuned.