2023–24 SHL season

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2023–24 SHL season
League Swedish Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration
  • September 2023 – March 2024
  • (Regular season)
  • From March 2024
  • (Playoffs)
Regular season
First place Färjestad BK[1]
Top scorer
Relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan IK Oskarshamn
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP Linus Söderström (Skellefteå AIK)
Finals champions Skellefteå AIK
  Runners-up Rögle BK
SHL seasons
2024–25 →

The 2023–24 SHL season was the 49th season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began in September 2023 and ended in March 2024, where it was followed by the playoffs and the relegation playoffs.

Färjestad BK won their first regular season title since 2018–19; a 4–5 overtime loss to Frölunda HC on 9 March 2024, gave them an unassailable tally of 103 points with a round to spare.[1][3] They were unable to add the subsequent playoff title, as they were swept 0–4 in the quarter-finals by Rögle BK.[4] Rögle BK made it all the way to the finals, the first team to do so having started in the eighth-finals, but Skellefteå AIK won the Le Mat Trophy with a 4–1 series victory, their first playoff title since 2013–14.[5]

IK Oskarshamn were relegated to the HockeyAllsvenskan,[6] as HV71 won the Play Out 4–3.

Teams

The league consists of 14 teams; MoDo Hockey returned to the SHL after seven seasons in the HockeyAllsvenskan, where they won the 2022–23 title. Brynäs IF were relegated to the HockeyAllsvenskan at the end of the previous season,[7] and as a result, Färjestad BK is now the only team to have constantly played in the SHL (formerly Elitserien) since its inception in 1975.

Team City Arena Capacity
Frölunda HC Gothenburg Scandinavium 12,044
Färjestad BK Karlstad Löfbergs Arena 8,647
HV71 Jönköping Husqvarna Garden 7,000
Leksands IF Leksand Tegera Arena 7,650
Linköping HC Linköping Saab Arena 8,500
Luleå HF Luleå Coop Norrbotten Arena 6,300
Malmö Redhawks Malmö Malmö Arena 13,000
MoDo Hockey Örnsköldsvik Hägglunds Arena 7,265
IK Oskarshamn Oskarshamn Be-Ge Hockey Center 3,275
Rögle BK Ängelholm Catena Arena 6,310
Skellefteå AIK Skellefteå Skellefteå Kraft Arena 6,001
Timrå IK Timrå NHC Arena 6,000
Växjö Lakers Växjö Vida Arena 5,700
Örebro HK Örebro Behrn Arena 5,150

Regular season

Each team played 52 games, playing each of the other thirteen teams four times: twice on home ice, and twice away from home. Points were awarded for each game, where three points were awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the league champion.

The top two teams in the regular season – Färjestad BK and the Växjö Lakers – qualified for the 2024–25 Champions Hockey League.[8]

Standings

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Färjestad BK 52 30 3 8 11 176 123 +53 104 Qualification to Quarter-finals
2 Växjö Lakers 52 29 4 4 15 162 110 +52 99
3 Skellefteå AIK 52 27 6 4 15 154 111 +43 97
4 Frölunda HC 52 24 10 4 14 144 119 +25 96
5 Leksands IF 52 27 3 5 17 149 123 +26 92
6 Linköping HC 52 23 4 8 17 152 146 +6 85
7 Luleå HF 52 21 7 3 21 130 116 +14 80 Qualification to Eighth-finals
8 Timrå IK 52 22 3 8 19 133 137 −4 80
9 Rögle BK 52 17 7 5 23 117 133 −16 70
10 Örebro HK 52 14 9 7 22 115 138 −23 67
11 Modo Hockey 52 15 8 6 23 130 162 −32 67
12 Malmö Redhawks 52 16 5 7 24 138 150 −12 65
13 HV71 52 13 5 4 30 130 175 −45 53 Qualification to Play Out
14 IK Oskarshamn (R) 52 8 4 5 35 110 197 −87 37

Playoffs

Ten teams qualify for the playoffs: the top six teams in the regular season have a bye to the quarter-finals, while teams ranked seventh to tenth meet each other (7 versus 10, 8 versus 9) in a preliminary playoff round.[9]

Format

In the first round, the 7th-ranked team meets the 10th-ranked team and the 8th-ranked team meets the 9th-ranked team for a place in the second round. In the second round, the top-ranked team will meet the lowest-ranked winner of the first round, the second-ranked team will face the other winner of the first round, the third-ranked team will face the sixth-ranked team, and the fourth-ranked team will face the fifth-ranked team. In the third round, the highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In each round the higher-seeded team is awarded home advantage. The meetings are in the first round played as best-of-three series, and in the later rounds as best-of-seven series. In the eighth-finals, the higher-seeded teams play at home for game 2 (plus 3 if necessary) while the lower-seeded teams play at home for game 1. In the later rounds, the higher-seeded teams are at home for games 1 and 2 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary) while the lower-seeded teams are at home for games 3 and 4 (plus 6 if necessary).[9]

Playoff bracket

  Eighth-finals Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
                                     
    1  Färjestad BK 0  
7  Luleå HF 2     9  Rögle BK 4    
  2  Växjö Lakers 0  
10  Örebro HK 1    
  9  Rögle BK 4    
2  Växjö Lakers 4
   
  7  Luleå HF 0  
    9  Rögle BK 1
  3  Skellefteå AIK 4
  3  Skellefteå AIK 4    
6  Linköping HC 0    
  3  Skellefteå AIK 4
8  Timrå IK 0  
  4  Frölunda HC 3  
9  Rögle BK 2     4  Frölunda HC 4
 
    5  Leksands IF 3  

Eighth-finals

(7) Luleå HF vs. (10) Örebro HK

Luleå HF win series 2–1


(8) Timrå IK vs. (9) Rögle BK

Rögle BK win series 2–0


Quarter-finals

(1) Färjestad BK vs. (9) Rögle BK

With their defeat in a series sweep, Färjestad BK became the first No. 1 seed since HV71 in 2010–11 (and third overall) to lose in the quarter-finals in such a manner.[4] Rögle BK became the third team to make the semi-finals, having started the playoffs in the eighth-finals.[4]


Rögle BK win series 4–0


(2) Växjö Lakers vs. (7) Luleå HF

Växjö Lakers win series 4–0


(3) Skellefteå AIK vs. (6) Linköping HC

Skellefteå AIK win series 4–0


(4) Frölunda HC vs. (5) Leksands IF

Frölunda HC win series 4–3


Semi-finals

(2) Växjö Lakers vs. (9) Rögle BK

With their series victory, Rögle BK became the first team to make the finals having started in the eighth-finals.[10]


Rögle BK win series 4–0


(3) Skellefteå AIK vs. (4) Frölunda HC

Skellefteå AIK win series 4–3


Finals

(3) Skellefteå AIK vs. (9) Rögle BK

Skellefteå AIK win series 4–1


Play Out

The two bottom-placed teams from the regular season (HV71 and IK Oskarshamn) played a best-of-seven series, with the winner remaining in the SHL and the loser relegated to the second tier, the HockeyAllsvenskan. The higher-seeded team held home advantage over the series, playing at home for the first two games and games five and seven while the lower-seeded team was at home for games three, four and six .[9]


HV71 win series 4–3


References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Färjestad tog hem grundserien", Sveriges Radio, Foundation Management for SR, SVT, and UR, 9 March 2024. Retrieved on 10 March 2024. (Swedish) 
  2. Zakrisson, Hampus. "Så slutade SHL 2023/2024", TV4, TV4 AB, 12 March 2024. Retrieved on 13 March 2024. (Swedish) 
  3. Andersson, Viktor. "Färjestads monstersvit bruten – vinnare ändå", Sveriges Television, Foundation Management for SR, SVT, and UR, 9 March 2024. Retrieved on 10 March 2024. (Swedish) 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Karlsson, Mattias. "Chocken: Rögle slog ut Färjestad", Aftonbladet, Schibsted, 27 March 2024. Retrieved on 27 March 2024. (Swedish) 
  5. "Skellefteå är svenska mästare 2023/24!", Swedish Hockey League, SHL AB, 29 April 2024. Retrieved on 30 April 2024. (Swedish) 
  6. Tyrbo, Olle. "IK Oskarshamn får lämna SHL - förlorade stort mot HV71", Sveriges Radio, Foundation Management for SR, SVT, and UR, 29 March 2024. Retrieved on 29 March 2024. (Swedish) 
  7. "Brynäs åker ur SHL – efter 63 raka säsonger i högsta serien", 23 March 2023. Retrieved on 23 March 2023. (Swedish) 
  8. "Who's qualified for 2024/25?", Champions Hockey League, Champions Hockey League AG, 12 March 2024. Retrieved on 13 March 2024. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Seriebestämmelser & Verksamhetsplan: Säsongen 2023-2024" (in Swedish) (PDF). pp. 6–8. https://www.swehockey.se/media/nyml3zlo/sb-2023-2024-reviderad-2024-02-16.pdf. Retrieved 13 March 2024. 
  10. Nyberg, Hannes. "Jonas Andersson: "Det är något unikt vi har fått uppleva"", Sveriges Television, Foundation Management for SR, SVT, and UR, 11 April 2024. Retrieved on 11 April 2024. (Swedish) “Inget lag har tidigare gått från åttondelsfinal till final. [No team has previously progressed from the round of 16 to the final.]” 

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