| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Ceased | 2016 |
| Country |  France |
| Most titles | Brûleurs de Loups de Grenoble Dragons de Rouen (4 titles) |
| Official website | www.hockeyfrance.com |
The Coupe de la Ligue (lit. 'League Cup') was a French ice hockey competition which took place between the 2006–07 and 2015–16 seasons. It was the league cup for Ligue Magnus clubs, and served as the country's secondary cup competition after the Coupe de France.
By 2006, France's top tier, the Ligue Magnus, included a few surviving teams from the defunct Ligue Élite (1997–2002), a failed professional circuit that played both mid-week and weekend games, while the majority of its members were former participants in the semi-professional Nationale 1 (second tier), who had been enticed to form a new league with their larger peers, partly based on the promise that the fledgling loop would—at least in the beginning—keep the cheaper, weekend-based schedule they used to operate on. [1]
As such, the Ligue Magnus initially represented a drop in intensity, which the French Ice Hockey Federation was intent on remedying without alienating its more budget-conscious constituents. This led to a transitional period, where the governing body kept regular season games at a relative minimum (26) to preserve the semi-professional model demanded by some clubs, while adding potential cup and playoff games to provide more competitive and revenue opportunities to those who wanted them. The creation of the Coupe de la Ligue was such an initiative. [1] [2]
In 2016, French federation president Luc Tardif announced that, despite the continued reluctance of some structurally or financially challenged clubs, he would enact the long-delayed switch of the regular season to a 44-game, three-game-a-week schedule, which was needed to keep in touch with accepted international standards. As part of the move, the Coupe de la Ligue was phased out. [3]
For its first two seasons, the Coupe de la Ligue consisted of home-and-home series decided on aggregate score for each round except the final, which consisted of a single game played on neutral ice. From the third to the tenth and final season, the competition started with a round robin phase, where teams were split into four regional groups of four teams each and played each other twice, once at home and once away. The two best teams from each group qualified for the knockout phase, with quarterfinals and semifinals consisting of home-and-home series decided on aggregate score, and the final consisting of a single game played on neutral ice. [4]
For each of the ten seasons, the final was hosted at Méribel Olympic Ice Rink, which hosted the Coupe de France final before 2007, when it moved to Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy. [5]
The Coupe de la Ligue featured 16 participants. As the Ligue Magnus had 14 clubs at the time, two external teams were included. They were originally the two highest ranked second-tier (now called Division 1) teams based on the previous season's rankings. From the 2010–11 season, one of the two second-tier teams was replaced by the French under 20 national team, as preparation for December's World Junior Championships. However, it was barred from advancing to the elimination phase. [4] [6]
| Year | Location | Winner | Finalist | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Olympic Ice Rink, Méribel | Rapaces de Gap | Dragons de Rouen | 4–2 |
| 2014–15 | Brûleurs de Loups de Grenoble | Dragons de Rouen | 3–2 | |
| 2013–14 | Dragons de Rouen | Chamois de Chamonix | 6–4 | |
| 2012–13 | Dragons de Rouen | Ducs d'Angers | 4–3 O.T. | |
| 2011–12 | Diables Rouges de Briançon | Pingouins de Morzine-Avoriaz | 4–1 | |
| 2010–11 | Brûleurs de Loups de Grenoble | Diables Rouges de Briançon | 4–3 O.T. | |
| 2009–10 | Dragons de Rouen | Brûleurs de Loups de Grenoble | 6–4 | |
| 2008–09 | Brûleurs de Loups de Grenoble | Diables Rouges de Briançon | 4–3 O.T. | |
| 2007–08 | Dragons de Rouen | Diables Rouges de Briançon | 4–3 O.T. | |
| 2006–07 | Brûleurs de Loups de Grenoble | Dragons de Rouen | 2–1 |
The Diables Rouges de Briançon(: Briançon Red Devils) is the ice hockey team of Briançon (Hautes-Alpes). Their home arena is the Patinoire René Froger.
The Ligue Magnus, currently known as Synerglace Ligue Magnus for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's division of the French ice hockey pyramid, established in 1906. The league operated under a variety of names before taking that of its championship trophy, the Magnus Cup, in 2004. The trophy was in turn named for Frenchman and IIHF founder Louis Magnus.
Parc Olympique Lyonnais, known for sponsorship reasons as Groupama Stadium, is a 59,186-seat stadium in Décines-Charpieu, in the Lyon Metropolis. The home of French football club Olympique Lyonnais (OL), it replaced their previous stadium, the Stade de Gerland, in January 2016.
Lyon Hockey Club Les Lions was the ice hockey team of Lyon, France. The team currently competes in The French Ligue Magnus on 13 January 2014 it was announced they will have a partnership with the Tampa Bay Lighting and Syracuse Crunch. In 2019, the professional team was dissolved after bankruptcy.
Rouen Hockey Élite 76 is a French professional ice hockey team based in Rouen playing in the Ligue Magnus.
Chamonix Hockey Club was a French professional ice hockey team based in Chamonix that last played in the Ligue Magnus in 2015. The team is also known as "Chamois de Chamonix".
The 2004–05 Ligue Magnus season was the 84th regular season of the ice hockey elite league in France and the first to take the name of Ligue Magnus.
The French Ice Hockey Federation is the governing body of ice hockey in France, as recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was founded in 2006 after separation with the Fédération française des sports de glace .
For the first ten years, the federation had its offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Hauts-de-Seine. In 2016, it moved to a new national training center in Cergy, Val-d'Oise. It manages both the amateur and professional games in France, as well as the national teams on junior and senior levels. France is a founding member of the IIHF.
Rapaces de Gap is a French ice hockey team that is based in Gap and plays home games at the Patinoire Brown-Ferrand. The team played in the Ligue Magnus during the 2009–10 Ligue Magnus season. Gap won the French Championship three times in 1977, 1978 and 2015.
FFHG Division 1 is a semi-professional ice hockey league in France. In France, there are four levels of national ice hockey. The teams that end at the bottom of the table get relegated to FFHG Division 2 while the top get promoted to Ligue Magnus.
Hockey Club de Caen is a French ice hockey team based in Caen, Normandy playing in the Division 1. The team is also known as "Drakkars de Caen". The team was formerly called the Léopards de Caen.
The Coupe de France an ice hockey competition in France. It is the premier knockout cup organized by the French Ice Hockey Federation.
Luc Tardif Jr. is a French ice hockey coach, and former professional player. He is the head coach and general manager for Spartiates de Marseille of the French FFHG Division 1. Tardif is the son of International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif. A product of the French ice hockey system, Tardif is also a citizen of Canada, his father's country of birth.
Maxime Moisand is a French professional ice hockey defenceman. He currently plays for Boxers de Bordeaux in the Ligue Magnus.
The 2006–07 Ligue Magnus season was the 86th season of the Ligue Magnus, the top level of ice hockey in France. 14 teams participated in the league, and Brûleurs de Loups de Grenoble won their fifth league title.
The 2011–12 Ligue Magnus season was the 91st season of the Ligue Magnus, the top level of ice hockey in France. Fourteen teams participated in the league, and Dragons de Rouen won both the regular season title, and the Coupe Magnus, the postseason championship that earned the team the title "Champions of France". The Scorpions de Mulhouse were elevated to the league from Division 1 at the end of the season, and the Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne were relegated to Division 1 after finishing the regular season with only three wins and losing the relegation playoff with the Ours de Villard-de-Lans.
Nice Hockey Côte d'Azur is a French ice hockey team based in Nice also known as "Les Aigles de Nice". The Eagles are members of the Ligue Magnus and play their home games at Palais des sports Jean-Bouin.
Luc Tardif is a Canadian-born French ice hockey executive, and former professional ice hockey player. A native of Trois-Rivières, he played junior ice hockey in Quebec, then was an all-star player for the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. During his professional career, he became a naturalized citizen of France, won two Nationale A League titles, and won the Charles Ramsay Trophy four times with Chamonix HC as the league's top scorer. Later in his career, he was a player-coach for the Dragons de Rouen, then served as the team's vice-president and oversaw the youth hockey program.
The Spartiates de Marseille, formally known as Marseille Hockey Club, are an ice hockey club based in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. The team plays at Palais omnisports Marseille Grand-Est, which is the country's largest permanent ice rink by capacity. The 2023–24 season will mark their debut at the highest national level, the Ligue Magnus.
The Corsaires de Nantes are an ice hockey team based in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, France.