| Maxa liga | |
| Pixels: | 200px |
| Upcoming Season: | 2024–25 Czech 1. Liga season |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Founded: | 1993 |
| Teams: | 14 |
| Promotion: | Czech Extraliga |
| Relegation: | Czech 2.liga |
| Champion: | VHK Vsetín (2nd title) |
| Related Comps: | Czech Extraliga Czech 2.liga |
| Website: | hokej.cz/maxa-liga |
The Maxa liga[1] is the second-highest level of professional ice hockey in the Czech Republic, after the Extraliga. It began in 1993 and is run and administered by Czech Ice Hockey Association.
Until 2015, the league was known as the 1st Czech National Hockey League. It was then known as the WSM Liga until 2018,[2] and the Chance Liga until 2024.[3]
In the first phase, every team plays each other four times—twice at home and twice away—which makes for a 52-game regular season.
After the 52-game regular season, the first six teams directly qualify for the quarter-finals, while teams which placed 7 to 10 play a round-robin to determine the final two participants in the quarter-finals.
The playoffs end with the finals, with the winning team go on to face the bottom team from the Extraliga in a round-robin. The winner of the round-robin is promoted to Extraliga for the following season.
The last placed team at the end of the regular season is directly relegated to the Second League for the following season. They are replaced by the winner of a 3 team round-robin group between the winners of the East, the Central and the West divisions of the Second League.
Three points are awarded for a win in regulation time and two points for an overtime or shootout victory, while the team defeated in overtime or shootout gets one point.
The level of 1. národní hokejová liga is slightly lower than the Czech Extraliga, but there are a lot of players moving between those two leagues every season. Each team in this league is allowed to have five imports. The league has no salary cap, with an average salary of USD 2200 per month, but some of the best players reportedly sign contracts for more than USD 5000 per month, plus most of the teams cover accommodation expenses for their players during the season.
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | Affiliate Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HC Baník Sokolov | Sokolov | Zimni stadion Sokolov | 5,000 | independent | |
| VHK ROBE Vsetín | Vsetín | Zimní stadion Na Lapači | 5,386 | independent | |
| HC Slavia Praha | Prague | Zimní stadion Eden | 4,000 | independent | |
| HC Stadion Litoměřice | Litoměřice | Kalich arena | 1,750 | independent | |
| HC ZUBR Přerov | Přerov | Zimní stadion Přerov | 3,000 | independent | |
| HC Frýdek-Místek | Frýdek-Místek | Hala Polárka | 2,056 | HC Oceláři Třinec (ELH) | |
| LHK Jestřábi Prostějov | Prostějov | Zimní hokejový stadion Prostějov | 5,125 | independent | |
| HC Dukla Jihlava | Jihlava | CZ LOKO Arena | 6,500 | independent | |
| SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč | Třebíč | Zimní stadion města Třebíče | 5,000 | independent | |
| HC RT TORAX Poruba | Poruba | Zimní stadion Ostrava - Poruba | 5,000 | independent | |
| HC Dynamo Pardubice B | Chrudim | Zimní stadion Chrudim | 1,744 | HC Dynamo Pardubice (ELH) | |
| SC Kolín | Kolín | Zimní stadion Kolín | 5,500 | Mountfield HK (ELH) | |
| Piráti Chomutov | Chomutov | Rocknet Arena | 4,020 | HC Litvínov (ELH) | |
| Berani Zlin | Zlín | Zimní stadion Luďka Čajky | 7,000 | independent |