Vesa Parviainen
The Eripurai SM league can be congratulated on the results of Thursday night’s summit, although there was still room for improvement, writes Vesa Parviainen.
SM League CEO Mikko Pulkkinen and chairman Jyrki Seppä started the press conference in Helsinki on Thursday evening at 23:23. Tomi Natri / AOP
Let’s start with the plus-sign decisions of the expected general meeting, there are many of them.
The best thing is the super season to be played next season, where in addition to the current league teams, at least the reigning Mestis champion Jokerit will play and possibly also next spring’s Mestis champion or finalist.
Even an 18-team SM league in 2026–2027 would be too large in terms of the number of teams in the longer term, but as a single season it will be an all-time battle – if not for life and death, then at least for a place in the sun.
The competition returns to Finnish hockey in one fell swoop – and the audience gets what they want, huge drama.
Jokerit, which is important from a business point of view, will also be included, and it will get a chance for a place in the so-called A-League for the next season.
The operation of the two highest league levels managed by the SM league is also excellent, as well A reduction in the number of teams in the A-League for the 2027–2028 season, when the new 14+10 team series model comes into effect.
Of course, the matter still requires the approval of the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation, but its emergence is probably certain.
The right decision is also to include direct ascent and fall from the spring of 2028, and other things that are positive from the point of view of the overall benefit, only the league bosses, who normally pursue the interest of their own club, could decide – certainly also to their own surprise.
However, instead of the best possible result, we have to talk about a moderate compromise at most.
Sure, even a thin agreement is better than a fat quarrel that could have led to the dissolution of the entire League, but the 12+10 team model that lost in the vote would certainly have been better in terms of the future of Finnish hockey.
Not only most of the big clubs in the League, but also the players’ association SJRY and the Sarjaseurat ry representing Mestista hoped for it.
The 12+10 model would have narrowed the gap between the series levels and also kept the lower level viable better than 14+10, where the change to the current one is cosmetic.
The smaller A-league means a more even series and tougher competition not only between teams, but also between players for playing spots.
This raises the quality, not only on the rink but also in the office, when the competition is getting tougher on the side of the club management as well. Direct relegation ensures that no department can afford to act half-heartedly.
The result of all this is the development that Finnish ice hockey specifically needs in order to improve its international competitiveness.
This season’s CHL, where KalPa, Ilves and Lukko are already in the top eight, should not be allowed to cloud the big picture.
The SM League is far from the status of the second toughest league in the world, which was still talked about in the 1990s without being taken away by the men in white coats.
The consequences of the development are naturally positive.
Finland is growing even more quality players for the national team and the NHL. The public gets to enjoy more fast-paced entertainment, the clubs’ box office revenues increase and the millions of TV contracts increase.
A smaller 12-team A-league would also have meant that more current league clubs would play in the B-league, which would have made the competition tougher there as well.
The athletic level of the B-league would have risen even more compared to the current Mestis, in which case the upstarts would be more ready to play in the A-league and relegation would not lead to loss, but to a place in an interesting series and a genuine possibility of a quick return.
With the 14+10 model that the League has decided on, the League can only enjoy half of these advantages, if at all.
The decision to re-examine the team numbers after 2–3 years is precisely related to this. Then we might get to the optimal 12+10 system.
However, you have to wonder one thing: why did you forget the league qualification? Why in the world didn’t the League take a qualification alongside direct promotion and relegation?
One of the climaxes of the spring will not receive the income, and the League will not reward the audience with a series of matches with gigantic stakes.
The change between series levels adds interest, and a qualifier would have allowed a greater change than just straight up and down.
As a thin consolation, at the end of the 2026–2027 super season, the number of teams will be reduced from the supposed 18 by four parts through qualification, when the last two will drop directly into the B-League and only two of those who finished 13–16 will continue at the top.
Let’s get a proper qualifying drama even for one spring.