Ligue Magnus


Synerglace Ligue Magnus is the current name for the top men's division of the French ice hockey pyramid, established in 1906. The league was renamed in 2004 to take the name of its championship trophy, the Magnus Cup. The trophy was in turn named for Frenchman and IIHF founder Louis Magnus. During the 2015–16 and 2016-17 seasons, the league was officially known as Saxoprint Ligue Magnus, due to a sponsorship deal with Saxoprint, the online printing subsidiary of German conglomerate :de:Cewe|Cewe.

Format

12 teams play a 44-game regular season. The schedule is fully balanced and there are no geographic conferences. Regulation wins are worth 3 points, as per international rules. The top 8 teams qualify for the Magnus Cup playoffs, with all series contested in a best-of-seven format. The remaining 4 teams play a 6-game round-robin, at the end of which the last-place team is relegated.
The Magnus Cup champions qualify for the following season's Champions Hockey League. All Ligue Magnus teams also take part in the French Cup.

Import rule

Game night rosters must include at least 10 players who have spent 3 or more years in the French hockey system before the age of 21. French citizenship itself is not a requirement to qualify for non-import status, as long as the player meets the above criteria. Conversely, a citizen of France who was fully trained in a foreign country will count as an import regardless of his French citizenship.

Media

Television

The Magnus Cup championship series is broadcast on L'Equipe.

Internet streaming

All league games can be watched online in their entirety, live or delayed, for a monthly subscription fee of approximately €8. The service is managed by Finnish company Fanseat.

Video game

Hockey Dangles '16: Saxoprint Magnus Edition, an arcade-style mobile video game based on the league, has been released for Android and iOS devices. Its launch coincided with the opening of the 2016-17 season.

Outdoor games

On December 22, 2013, Grenoble and Briançon played an outdoor regular season game at Stade des Alpes, the home of former Ligue 1 soccer club GF38. A sellout attendance of 19,767 set a league record.

Another outdoor game took place on December 30, 2016, when Lyon hosted Grenoble at Parc OL, the home field of seven-time Ligue 1 champions Olympique Lyonnais. The event drew a record 25,182 attendance.

2018/19 Teams

TeamCityArenaFounded
GothiquesAmiensColiséum1967
DucsAngersIceParc1982
HormadiAngletPatinoire de la Barre1969
BoxersBordeauxPatinoire de Mériadeck1999
PionniersChamonixCentre Sportif Richard Bozon2016
RapacesGapAlp'Arena1937
Brûleurs de LoupsGrenoblePatinoire Pole Sud1963
LionsLyonPatinoire Charlemagne1953
AiglesNicePatinoire Jean Bouin1969
DragonsRouenPatinoire de l'Île Lacroix1982
Etoile NoireStrasbourgPatinoire Iceberg2000
ScorpionsMulhousePatinoire de l'Illberg2005

Former teams

Titles by team

Awards

In addition, Bob Gainey and Brian Propp have played in the second tier of French hockey.