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Ligue Magnus
Current season, competition or edition:; 2023–24 Ligue Magnus season
Formerly	Championnat de France (1907-1930); 1re Série (1930-1973); Série A (1973-1975); Nationale A (1975-1985); Nationale 1A (1985-1990, 1996-1997); Ligue nationale (1990-1991); Élite (1991-1992, 1994-1996, 1997-2002); Nationale 1 (1992-1994); Super 16 (2002-2004); Ligue Magnus (2004-);
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1906; 119 years ago
No. of teams	12
Country	France
Most recent; champion(s)	Grenoble (8)
Most titles	Chamonix (30)
TV partner(s)	Sport en France, Fanseat
Relegation to	FFHG Division 1
Domestic cup(s)	Coupe de France
Official website	liguemagnus.com

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.^[1] 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.

Teams from the Ligue Magnus can participate in the IIHF's annual Champions Hockey League (CHL), competing for the European Trophy. Participation is based on the strength of the various leagues in Europe (excluding the European/Asian Kontinental Hockey League). Going into the 2022–23 CHL season, the Ligue Magnus was ranked the No. 9 league in Europe, allowing them to send their top team to compete in the CHL.

Format

12 teams play a 44-game regular season. The schedule is fully balanced and there are no geographic conferences.^[2] Regulation wins are worth 3 points, as per international rules.^[2] The top 8 teams qualify for the Magnus Cup playoffs, with all series contested in a best-of-seven format.^[2] The remaining 4 teams play a 6-game round-robin, at the end of which the last-place team is relegated.^[2]

The Magnus Cup champions qualify for the following season's Champions Hockey League.^[2] 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.

Outdoor games

On 22 December 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 30 December 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.^[3]

Title sponsors

In 2016, the league signed its first naming rights deal with Saxoprint, the online printing subsidiary of German conglomerate Cewe, and became known as Saxoprint Ligue Magnus for the following two seasons.^[4] In 2018, mobile ice rink supplier Synerglace became the series' new title sponsor.^[5]

Media

Television

Select regular season and playoff games air on cable and broadband television channel Sport en France.^[6]

Internet streaming

All league games can be streamed for a monthly subscription fee of approximately €10. The service, managed by Finnish company Fanseat, employed a man-operated main camera for the first three years, before shifting to PlaySight automated technology in 2019.^[7]

Video game

Hockey Dangles '16: Saxoprint Magnus Edition, an arcade-style mobile video game based on the league, was released for Android and iOS devices in September 2016.^[8]

2024/25 teams

Team	City	Arena	Founded
Gothiques	Amiens	Coliséum	1967
Ducs	Angers	IceParc	1982
Hormadi	Anglet	Patinoire de la Barre	1969
Boxers	Bordeaux	Patinoire de Mériadeck	1999
Diables Rouges	Briançon	Patinoire René Froger	1934
Jokers	Cergy-Pontoise	Aren'Ice	1981
Pionniers	Chamonix	Centre Sportif Richard Bozon	2016
Rapaces	Gap	Alp'Arena	1937
Brûleurs de Loups	Grenoble	Patinoire Pole Sud	1963
Spartiates	Marseille	Palais omnisports Marseille Grand-Est	2012
Aigles	Nice	Patinoire Jean Bouin	1969
Dragons	Rouen	Patinoire de l'Île Lacroix	1982

Teams currently participating in the Ligue Magnus

Former teams

Defunct teams

Previous winners

1907 : SC Lyon
1908 : Patineurs de Paris
1912 : Patineurs de Paris
1913 : Patineurs de Paris
1914 : Patineurs de Paris
1915 to 1919 : Not held due to World War I
1920 : Ice Skating Club de Paris
1921 : Sports d'Hiver de Paris
1922 : Sports d'Hiver de Paris
1923 : Chamonix
1925 : Chamonix
1926 : Chamonix
1927 : Chamonix
1929 : Chamonix
1930 : Chamonix
1931 : Chamonix
1932 : Stade Français Paris
1933 : Stade Français Paris
1934 : Rapides de Paris
1935 : Stade Français Paris
1936 : Français Volants Paris
1937 : Français Volants Paris
1938 : Français Volants Paris
1939 : Chamonix
1941 : The final between Briançon and Paris Université Club
was not held due to World War II
1942 : Chamonix
1944 : Chamonix
1946 : Chamonix
1949 : Chamonix
1950 : Racing Club de Paris
1951 : Racing Club de Paris

Titles by team

Pl	Team	Titles	Winning seasons
1	Chamonix	30	1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1939, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1979
2	Rouen (earlier known as RHC (Rouen Hockey Club) and also known as Rouen Hockey Élite 76)	17	1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023
3	Grenoble (earlier known as CSG Grenoble)	8	1981, 1982, 1991, 1998, 2007, 2009, 2019, 2022
4	Club des Patineurs de Paris (also known as Ice Skating Club de Paris and Sports d'Hiver de Paris)	7	1908, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1920, 1921, 1922
5	Saint-Gervais	6	1969, 1974, 1975, 1983, 1985, 1986
6	Français Volants Paris	4	1936, 1937, 1938, 1989
7	Gap	4	1977, 1978, 2015, 2017
8	Stade Français Paris (also known as Rapides de Paris)	4	1932, 1933, 1934, 1935
9	AC Boulogne-Billancourt	3	1957, 1960, 1962
10	Brest	2	1996, 1997
	Mont-Blanc	2	1987, 1988
	Racing Club de Paris	2	1950, 1951
	Reims HC	2	2000, 2002
	Amiens Somme	2	1999, 2004
15	Megève	1	1984
	CP Lyon	1	1956
	SC Lyon	1	1907
	ASG Tours	1	1980
	Paris Université Club	1	1953
	Hockey Club de Mulhouse	1	2005
	Briançon	1	2014

Awards

Charles Ramsay Trophy (top scorer)
Albert Hassler Trophy (most valuable French player)
Marcel Claret Trophy (most sportsmanlike team)
Raymond Dewas Trophy (most sportsmanlike player)
Jean-Pierre Graff Trophy (most promising player)
Jean Ferrand Trophy (most valuable goaltender)
Camil Gélinas Trophy (coach of the year)

Notable players

In addition, Bob Gainey (Montreal Canadiens) and Brian Propp (Philadelphia Flyers) have played in the second tier of French hockey.

Notes

^ Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in France, the full regular season was played but the 2020 play-offs were cancelled, and no team was crowned Magnus Cup champion for the 2019–20 season.
^ Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in France, the regular season was terminated at its mid-point, the 2021 play-offs were cancelled, and (unlike 2019–20) regular season champion Rouen were crowned Magnus Cup champion of France for the 2020–21 season.

References

^ "Championnat de France 1906/07". hockeyarchives.info. Hockeyarchives. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Règlements généraux de la Saxoprint Ligue Magnus. Issy-Les-Moulineaux: Fédération Française de Hockey sur Glace. August 2020.
^ Riglet, Sébastien (31 December 2016). "Winter Game : 25182 personnes au Parc OL, vraiment ?". LeSportDauphinois.com. JHN Média. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
^ "La D1 de hockey devient la "Saxoprint Ligue Magnus"". lexpress.fr. AFP. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
^ Mandin, Louise (18 June 2018). "Synerglace succède à Saxoprint en tant que partenaire-titre de la Ligue Magnus". sportstrategies.com. Sport Stratégies.
^ Warnier, Mathieu (24 September 2020). "Ligue Magnus : Le championnat arrive sur Sport en France". sports.orange.fr. Orange. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
^ Mucret, Leslie (21 August 2019). "La FFHG prolonge son partenariat avec Fanseat". sportmag.fr. Even'Dia. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
^ Hockey Dangles'16 Saxoprint Magnus Edition - Trailer FR (Trailer) (in French). Toulon: GamYo Studio. 29 July 2016. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2016.