For the 1998-99 DEL season the Cannibals management envisaged proceeding to the final round for the first time in the last four years. After signing Chris Valentine as coach they contracted former NHL players Dean Evason, Jason Herter, David Bruce, Mike Casselman, Peter Douris and Bob Joyce as well as Evan Marble and Jari Korpisalo. Ranked sixth after the preliminary round the squad was knocked out surprisingly in the quarterfinals by the Adler Mannheim. The disappointment of the early elimination gave way to consternation regarding the club's financial situation. With depths totaling 10 mil. D-Mark (about 6.5 mil. USD) the club management announced on May 12, 1999 they would not be able to run a team for the 1999/2000 DEL season. The corporation "Cannibals Eissport GmbH" (i.e. the franchise) was sold to the Anschutz Entertainment Group, renamed “MEC Münchener Eishockey Club GmbH” ("Munich ice hockey club Gmbh") and relocated to Munich, where the franchise played for three seasons as Munich Barons. In 2002 the franchise was relocated to Hamburg and started operation as Hamburg Freezers. A cooperation contract ruled out that the EV Landshut had to stay two levels below the Barons for at least three years, therefore earning 350,000 D-Mark for junior hockey development p.a. As a result, ice hockey in Landshut had to continue in the third level semi-professional Oberliga after 36 seasons of top-level participation.