The former chairman of Tappara, Heikki Penttilä, is working on a new puck series in Finland. Many traditional league teams will probably be in Penttilä’s wagons.
The chairman of the SM league, Jyrki Seppä, is confident that the series he leads, his own ideas about the future will still produce a good result. Harri Hepojärvi
The announcement of the planning of a new Finnish hockey league did not come as a surprise to Jyrki Sepä, the chairman of Jääkiekon SM-liiga oy.
– The league’s position on the matter is that we are aware Heikki Penttilän about the project. Some of the clubs have contacted the League board with the information that they have been approached, Seppä tells Iltalehte.
– If it becomes public, it would be good to tell what the content of the plan is. We have not received information from any club that they have not committed themselves to the league’s own series format process, Seppä states.
Information for clubs
Members of the SM League receive mail from the League office on Tuesday. Pasi Suokko / AOP
The league has been working behind the scenes on its own league system change for a long time.
– That show goes to clubs on Tuesday. The league will propose that the number of teams be reduced to 12 or 14 teams. The playoff’s revenue distribution model will also be overhauled.
Iltalehti wrote about it earlier.
– The league’s decision-making structure and its rigidity must be lightened. The power of the shareholders must be transferred to the league board or office. Of course, here you have to remember to follow the Limited Liability Companies Act, Seppä opens the plans of the League’s own working groups.
The plans will be finalized at the general meeting on November 27.
The league also plans to change the possibility of promotion and relegation between the two highest league levels.
– We are trying to narrow the gap between the first and second series. Income must also be channeled to the second highest series level. The operations of the second division clubs must be brought closer to the operations of the first division, Seppä enumerates.
The ice hockey association must be involved in the plans, because the association runs Mestista.
– We have strong faith in this idea. A huge amount of work has been done for it.
Why only now?
It is known that HPK has not been very enthusiastic about the big changes in the League in the cabinet discussions. AOP / ELMERI ELO
The changes presented by Säpa deal with pain points that have been discussed by the puck community for years. Presumably, they could also have been fixed already, if the League’s shareholders had wanted to.
Why are these things being taken seriously only now, when a new disc series is planned?
– There have been no snacks. The work has been huge. This is not just about reducing or increasing the number of teams or relegation, but about a huge whole. The model is now built. It is part of our new strategy, which will start at the beginning of 2026.
Vastaranta quarrels
Heikki Penttilä and his assistants are building a new hockey league in Finland. Penttilä was the chairman of Tappara’s background company Tamhockey for a long time. Mika Kylmäniemi / AOP
Among the League’s shareholders, there have been several clubs, mostly six, which have fraternally opposed significant changes and slowed down the League’s development financially and athletically.
– I guess the opponents have mostly disappeared. I believe that we have a sufficient number of clubs behind these changes, be it our own work or this external threat. The clubs’ positions have converged, Seppä assures.