The loss of the Cardiff Devils and the Newcastle Jesters in 2001 reduced the membership of the Superleague to seven; and when the Manchester Storm and the Scottish Eagles folded within a week of one another at the beginning of the 2002–03 season,[2] there were just five remaining teams.

Owing a large debt to Ice Hockey UK and facing the prospect of having only three members, the league placed itself into liquidation on 30 April 2003.

In the weeks that followed they were joined by the Basingstoke Bison, Cardiff Devils, and Coventry Blaze of the British National League and two new organisations, from London and Manchester.

The row also threatened the future of the Nottingham Panthers, as the National Ice Centre were reluctant to allow a team from an unaffiliated league to hire their arena.

The other new team, the Manchester Phoenix, fared slightly better, qualifying for the playoff finals after finishing sixth in the league, where they were defeated 6–1 by Nottingham in the semifinal.

The club played at the 17,500 capacity MEN Arena which had been home to the Manchester Storm, but Phoenix crowds averaged 2,250, well below the break-even mark of 3,000.

This situation led to the resigning teams temporarily withdrawing their Elite League applications and entering into collective discussions on the entire BNL joining the EIHL instead.

The Elite League offered the BNL clubs invitations to join the EIHL structure,[12] which were declined by the remaining teams due to unfavourable terms.

From their formation the Racers had suffered problems finding a rink with comparable facilities to those of their rivals and they had maintained only a very small fan base.

The club had made the Lee Valley Ice Centre their home after playing only a small number of games at the Alexandra Palace in their first season.

[13] Further concerns were raised when a game against the Sheffield Steelers was abandoned after a piece of plexiglas shattered in an irregular manner, injuring a spectator.

With the Ice Centre unable to ensure the safety of players and spectators at Elite League games, the Racers were forced to suspend team operations effective immediately.

With both clubs confirming their intent to take part the following season, speculation began about the possible inclusion of a tenth team to replace the London Racers.

[15] In June 2006, the EIHL announced the adoption of the "zero tolerance" interpretation of the rules with regard to holding, hooking and interference implemented in the National Hockey League during the 2005–06 season.

[38] In April 2023, the league announced that the end of season play-off final weekend would continue to be played at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena until at least 2029.

The Giants finished ahead of second placed Guildford in the league, and defeated the Fife Flyers and Cardiff Devils in the Challenge Cup and play-off finals respectively.

The Challenge Cup has taken a number of different formats, ranging from a table formed from the results of designated league fixtures to groups of four teams playing on a round-robin basis at the beginning of the season.

[45] The Nottingham Panthers and Glasgow Clan owner Neil Black was rumoured to be setting up a new EIHL franchise in London, playing at Wembley Arena.

Only four teams have won a domestic grand slam in the EIHL era; Coventry Blaze in 2004–05, Nottingham Panthers in 2012–13, Belfast Giants in 2022–23 and Sheffield Steelers in 2023-24.

By contrast, teams have come within one match of a treble on no less than 13 occasions, beginning with the very first season when Panthers denied Sheffield Steelers by the odd goal in seven in the Challenge Cup final, and including the four completed seasons before last where Belfast Giants twice and Cardiff Devils twice, have been denied a 'Grand Slam' by losing in either the Challenge Cup or play-off final.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Sky Sports and BBC's Grandstand programme covered the British Hockey League and Superleague and their important games and competitions regularly.

In 2005, Elite League officials concluded an agreement with the North American Sports Network to provide a weekly highlights and news programme.

The coverage, which was available via Freeview, Sky, Virgin, FreeSat, TalkTalk, BT Vision and online via the TVPlayer, was fronted by Aaron Murphy who previously commentated on the league for Premier Sports.

Some national newspapers list results and provide short summaries of the league's news but more extensive coverage remains minimal.

Radio Sheffield also provides a weekly ice hockey programme Iceline while Radio Nottingham has broadcast a similar programme, Powerplay, since the later stages of the 2005–06 season, and has a 15-minute weekly preview of games on Saturday evenings during the ice hockey season after the station's coverage of the local football teams is completed.

Other recent ex-NHL players in the league include Jason Williams, Ric Jackman, Jay Rosehill, Jim Vandermeer, Pavel Vorobyev, Michael Garnett, Tyson Strachan, Tim Wallace, Aaron Johnson, Dylan Olsen, Patrick Dwyer, Griffin Reinhart, and Chris Stewart.

[62][63] The main criticism levelled at the EIHL is that the league is too expensive, an accusation given credence by the collapse of the London Racers mid-season in 2005, and the continued financial problems experienced by a number of other member clubs (most notably the Basingstoke Bison and Manchester Phoenix in 2008–09).

Both the Edinburgh Capitals and Newcastle Vipers made public statements about their potentially perilous financial situations, casting further doubt over both their own, and the league's sustained viability.

[64][65] This perceived problem with expenditure was given further credence when the Hull Stingrays announced, on 11 August 2010, that they were ceasing operations immediately, due to insufficient funds from sponsorships to guarantee completing the season.

After the successful addition of the Braehead Clan and the Dundee Stars for the 2010–11 season, the EIHL reported that it had entered discussions with the Fife Flyers formerly of the defunct BNL, and then resident in the SNL.