2023–24 Liiga season
| 2023–24 SM-liiga | |
|---|---|
| League | SM-liiga |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Defending champions | Tappara (2022–23) |
| Duration | September 2023 – April 2024 |
| Number of games | 60 |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| TV partner(s) | Telia C More |
| Regular season | |
| Playoffs | |
The 2023–24 SM-liiga season is the 49th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since its formation in 1975.
Format
The regular season started on Tuesday, September 12 2023, with a match between Rauman Lukko and Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho in Rauma. The match was the only one of the day. As in previous seasons, 450 matches will be played in the regular season, 60 for each team. There are 25 full rounds of seven matches played, 16 of which are on Saturdays. A little more than half of the regular season, 262 matches, are played on Fridays and Saturdays. Most weekday games are played on Wednesdays (98). There were a total of 106 game days in the regular season, i.e. eight less than in the previous season.[1]
As usual, the series is on break in November for a week and a half while the national teams play in the Euro Hockey Tour. The Christmas break lasts 5–7 days, depending on the team, with the exception of KalPa, which participates on the 26th–31st of December in the Spengler Cup in Switzerland.[2] For other teams, the Christmas break ends on Saint Stephen's day, December 26. The regular season ends on Tuesday, March 12 2024.[1]
Teams
Regular season standings
Top six advance straight to the quarter-finals, while teams between 7th and 10th positions play a wild card round for the final two spots. The SM-liiga is a closed series and thus there is no relegation to the Mestis.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tappara | 15 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 57 | 34 | +23 | 36 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Ilves | 16 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 29 | |
| 3 | Ässät | 15 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 45 | 32 | +13 | 29 | |
| 4 | HIFK | 15 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 46 | 33 | +13 | 29 | |
| 5 | Lukko | 17 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 41 | 45 | −4 | 24 | |
| 6 | TPS | 17 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 39 | 42 | −3 | 23 | |
| 7 | Sport | 15 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 22 | Advance to Wild-card round |
| 8 | Kärpät | 14 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 36 | 37 | −1 | 22 | |
| 9 | KooKoo | 17 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 43 | 53 | −10 | 21 | |
| 10 | Pelicans | 16 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 41 | 49 | −8 | 20 | |
| 11 | Jukurit | 14 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 19 | |
| 12 | HPK | 16 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 35 | 46 | −11 | 19 | |
| 13 | JYP | 13 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 19 | |
| 14 | KalPa | 14 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 18 | |
| 15 | SaiPa | 14 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 12 |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following shows the top ten players leading the league in points.[4]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jerry Turkulainen
|
JYP | 13 | 7 | 13 | 20 | +3 | 6 |
| Anton Levtchi
|
Tappara | 15 | 6 | 14 | 20 | +2 | 2 |
| Sami Niku
|
JYP | 13 | 6 | 12 | 18 | +4 | 8 |
| Sebastian Repo
|
Lukko | 17 | 10 | 7 | 17 | +1 | 8 |
| Kristian Vesalainen
|
HIFK | 15 | 8 | 9 | 17 | +9 | 4 |
| Oula Palve
|
Ilves | 16 | 4 | 11 | 15 | +4 | 8 |
 Ryan Lasch
|
Pelicans | 15 | 0 | 15 | 15 | -3 | 8 |
| Matias Mäntykivi
|
Ilves | 16 | 7 | 7 | 14 | +10 | 6 |
 Reid Gardiner
|
JYP | 13 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 4 |
| Carter Camper
|
Tappara | 15 | 3 | 11 | 14 | +8 | 2 |
Broadcast rights
For the 2023–2024 season, Telia had transferred the television rights of the SM-liiga to MTV, which it owns. Telia had acquired the broadcast rights starting from the 2018–2019 season, and with the new agreement MTV has the rights until the end of the 2026–2027 season. MTV pays more than 90 million euros for television rights over four seasons, and the company has admitted that the operation is loss-making.[5] The broadcasts are produced by MTV and during the season games can be seen live from C More, Discovery+, DNA, Elisa Viihde, MTV and Telia.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Kauden 2023–24 otteluohjelma tarjoaa huippuhetkiä koko runkosarjan ajalle". liiga.fi. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
- ^ "KalPa mukaan Spengler Cupiin!". kalpa.fi. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
- ^ "Joukkuetilastot | Runkosarja 2022-2023 | Tilastot | Liiga". Liiga.fi. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
- ^ "Player stats". Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Telia siirsi kaikessa hiljaisuudessa kymmenien miljoonien eurojen tappiolliset Liiga-oikeudet MTV:lle – pian MTV aloitti muutosneuvottelut". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). 2023-09-14. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
- ^ "Katso, mistä näet jääkiekon Liigaa halvimmalla – samalla lähetyksellä eri suoratoistopalveluissa täysin eri hinta". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2023-11-06.