Joel Harkimo is a strong candidate for Joker’s next face.
The Jokerit may play in the League in the 2023–24 season. TOMI NATRI / AOP
Jokerit aims to return to the SM league for the 2023–24 season. The club won’t get there cheaply.
According to information received by Iltalehti, the price of a league share can be even more than 3.5 million euros
– The value of the share has not yet been determined. We don’t have a relevant application inside, so it hasn’t been necessary to define the matter, comments the chairman of the SM league Heikki Hiltunen For Iltalehti.
– It may be that the price will rise to that level. We are in the process of meeting the shareholders in September. The matter is discussed there, Hiltunen continues.
Big growth
KooKoo and Jukurit, who were last promoted to the SM league, reportedly paid around 1.8 million euros for their place.
– It has been about ten years since the share price was last determined. Things have changed since then. Among other things, the value of Liiga’s business, brand value and the value of the TV contract have increased during that time.
– It is clear that the value of the share has also increased, Hiltunen states, and is of course absolutely right.
The league share can be paid in installments.
Led by Harkimo?
Is Joel Harkimo involved in the operation of the Joker’s next background company? TIMO KORHONEN / AOP
The Joker’s return project to the League became a topic of conversation again this weekend, when the Helsingin Jokerit ry, which owns the club’s brand, unexpectedly broke off negotiations with Naurava Narri oy, which built the league project.
Naurava Narri, which includes the joker stars of past years Teemu Selänne and Keijo Säilynoja, reportedly did not reach an agreement with Jokerit Hockey Club oy, which leased the brand rights from the association.
The owner of the company is Jari Kurri.
Another party has been in contact with the league regarding the return of the Jokers, who apparently made a better offer to JHC oy, owned by Kurri.
According to information received by Iltalehti on Tuesday, the front image of this entity is Joel Harkimo. He is the ex-owner of the Jokers Harry Harkimon son.
The group will go public with the matter already on Wednesday or Thursday.
There have been rumors about Joel Harkimo’s involvement in the Jokerit case all summer, and there was news about it earlier Evening News.
Thus, “Harkimo’s group” is now the closest to reaching the point where it would apply for a league license for the Jokers. The application must be submitted by the end of October if the team wants to play in the League in the fall of 2023.
The attitude of the clubs
Heikki Hiltunen is the chairman of the SM league. Jarno Kuusinen
It will be interesting to see how the other league teams react to a possible application, if the surname Harkimo is connected to it.
Of course, a lot depends on what other names will be involved in the company’s ownership and operational activities.
In the league, a team called Jokerit will play in the 2023–24 season at the earliest. Maybe not even then.
It is also possible that the team will have to get a boost from Mestis.
Kurri plays a key role in the possible return of the Jokers to the league despite the fact that the League has stated that it does not accept any link to Russia.
The Helsingin Jokerit ry has instructed parties planning a return to the league to negotiate with Kurri.
– The association’s goal has been to find, together with Jari Kurri, the best and most sustainable option for the Jokers to return permanently and successfully to Finnish league hockey, the association stated in its press release on Monday.
The company that sets out to build the Jokers’ future will have to pay Kurrin Jokerit Hockey Club oy a significant amount, up to half a million euros, according to IS.
Quiet men
Kurri’s company has existing staff who are currently laid off. It is unclear whether the staff will be transferred directly to the new company’s payroll.
After the KHL messes, the Jokers should make their return to the league as openly as possible. However, there are many more questions and wonders surrounding the future of the club than clear answers.
Kurri is silent. Joel Harkimo did not answer IL’s call request. Hjallis Harkimo already denied his connection to the Joker’s league project on Monday. Junioriäjäkiekko ry speaks through a press release.
Answers are awaited.
How does the application process begin?
The mechanism starts the moment the application is submitted. So far, Jääkiekon SM-liiga Oy has not received an application from outside the current League clubs. The deadline for submitting an application is October 31, 2022 for the 2023–24 league season.
Process steps
In the license process, the whole of the applicant is put up for evaluation by the Liiga’s license committee.
If the application is submitted, it will go through a detailed legal and financial review between November and December due diligence process.
The Licensing Committee makes an assessment of the applicant’s League eligibility to the board of Jääkiekon SM-liiga Oy. If the applicant is judged eligible for a license, the league board will convene a general meeting to decide on the directed share issue and its conditions.
League license and league share
In order to play in the League, a new organization needs a league license, but it must also become a shareholder of the League like other clubs, i.e. claim a League share.
If the board decides so, the next step is a directed share issue. This is followed by the approval of the shareholders’ agreement and the redemption of the share. As a result, the applicant is accepted as a partner of SM-liiga Oy and is granted a league license for the 2023–24 season.
liiga.fi
Story edited at 23:25. Corrected the word league license in the title and body text.