National coach Toni Söderholm will stay with the German Ice Hockey Federation for a longer period of time.
The internationally sought-after 43-year-old Finn is extending his contract with the DEB by a further four years until 2026. The association announced this on Wednesday.
"This is a trend-setting and extremely important personnel decision for the DEB in sporting terms, but also beyond that," said DEB President Franz Reindl.
"He is a well-respected, recognized coach with whom our national players work in a goal-oriented manner."
Financially improved offer
The extension had been indicated for a few days.
"My personal feeling is that Toni Söderholm will stay with DEB.
He has not yet achieved everything he wants to achieve at DEB," Mannheim's manager Jan-Axel Alavaara said on Tuesday.
Söderholm had also been courted by the Eagles.
According to dpa information, he had canceled Mannheim after the DEB had financially improved his offer for the national coach.
Until the Winter Games in Beijing in February, it was more likely that Söderholm would say goodbye after the World Cup in Helsinki and Tampere this May.
Numerous top European clubs are said to have made financially lucrative offers to Söderholm.
The goal of the ambitious Finn is also the North American professional league NHL.
Apparently, the disappointing performance at the Olympics with missing the quarterfinals meant that Söderholm wanted to continue.
"We want to take the next steps with German ice hockey," said the Finn, after things had steadily improved since he took office in early 2019.