The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English, and officially known as SM-liiga in Finnish and FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mestis. The winner of the Liiga playoffs is awarded the Kanada-malja ("Canada Bowl") at the end of each season.
Teams from the Liiga participate in the IIHF's annual Champions Hockey League (CHL), competing for the European Trophy. Participation is based on the strength of the various leagues in Europe (excluding the Eurasian Kontinental Hockey League).
The Liiga was established in 1975 to replace the former SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur competition. The Liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, but the league and association have an agreement of cooperation. SM is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruus, "Finnish Championship".
History The SM-liiga was established in 1975 to replace the amateur competition SM-sarja. Kalervo Kummola was elected to become the first chief executive officer of the SM-liiga, who served until 1987. The SM-liiga wasn't established under the Finnish ice Hockey Association that oversees all the other leagues and cups in the country. The playoffs were introduced in Finnish ice hockey for the first time during the inaugural SM-liiga season.
At first there were 10 clubs in the SM-liiga. The league expanded to 12 teams in the 1988–89 season. In 2000, the SM-liiga was expanded by one team, after which the league was closed so that teams could not drop out of the league or move up from a lower league. For the 2005–2006 season, the Mestis winner KalPa was promoted to the series, which met the criteria required for a place in the league. The league qualifiers were brought back for the 2008–09 season. However, as a condition for promotion, the Mestis team that cleared the qualifiers should have bought the shares of the losing Liiga team at the price determined by the league. Otherwise, the losing Liiga team would have continued playing in the league. Starting from the 2013–2014 season, the Liiga qualifiers were replaced by a license system where the winner of Mestis can apply for a Liiga license. If granted, the club will be promoted to the league after a transition period of one season.The league changed its marketing name to just Liiga for the 2013–14 season, and introduced a new logo to match. The 2019–20 Liiga season was terminated on March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the decision, the final round of the regular season and the playoffs were not played, and the 2020 Finnish hockey championship was not awarded.
For the 2024–25 season, Kiekko-Espoo were promoted to the Liiga as the league expanded to 16 teams. The league was opened for relegation and promotion between the Mestis for the first time since 2013.
According to a 2023 article by The Hockey Writers, the SM-liiga is considered one of the best leagues in Europe and the world along with the Swedish Hockey League and behind the Kontinental Hockey League. Going into the 2024–25 CHL season, the Liiga was ranked the No. 3 league in Europe, allowing them to send their top four teams to compete in the CHL.
Clubs List of clubs The team names are usually the traditional name of the club. All clubs are commonly known by the name of their team. Oy and Ab are the abbreviations for limited company in Finnish and Swedish respectively.
Team nameClub's registered nameLocationHome venueCapacity2025–26 season standing (playoffs)Titles SM-liigaTitles overallHIFKOy HIFK Hockey Ab HelsinkiHelsinki Ice Hall8,20010th (12th)47HPKHPK Liiga Oy HämeenlinnaPatria-areena5,36012th (8th)22IlvesIlves-Hockey Oy TampereNokia Arena12,7004th (4th)116JukuritJukurit HC Oy MikkeliIkioma Areena4,20015th (did not qualify)00JYPJYP Jyväskylä Oy JyväskyläSynergia-areena4,4376th (10th)22KalPaKalPa Hockey Oy KuopioOlvi Arena5,3007th (5th)11Kiekko-EspooKiekko-Espoo Oy EspooEspoo Metro Areena6,9829th (11th)00KooKooKooKoo Hockey Oy KouvolaLumon arena5,9502nd (2nd)00KärpätOulun Kärpät Oy OuluOulun Energia Areena6,30014th (did not qualify)88LukkoRauman Lukko Oy RaumaKivikylän Areena4,5005th (9th)12PelicansLahden Pelicans Oy LahtiIsku Areena4,40311th (7th)00SaiPaLiiga-SaiPa Oy LappeenrantaKisapuisto4,8203rd (3rd)00SportHockey-Team Vaasan Sport Oy VaasaVaasa Arena5,18516th (did not qualify)00TapparaTamhockey Oy TampereNokia Arena12,7001st (1st)1421TPSHC TPS Turku Oy TurkuGatorade Center10,50013th (did not qualify)1011ÄssätHC Ässät Pori Oy PoriIsomäki Ice Hall6,1508th (6th)23
SM-liiga timeline 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 7576 7677 7778 7879 7980 8081 8182 8283 8384 8485 8586 8687 8788 8889 8990 9091 9192 9293 9394 9495 9596 9697 9798 9899 9900 0001 0102 0203 0304 0405 0506 0607 0708 0809 0910 1011 1112 1213 13141415 1516 1617 1718 1819 1920 2021212222232324242525262627 HIFK Ilves Tappara TPS Ässät Jokerit Lukko KOOVEE Sport FoPS Kiekkoreipas Hockey-Reipas Reipas Lahti Pelicans Kärpät SaiPa HPK JyP HT JYP KalPa KooKoo JoKP Kiekko-Espoo Blues Kiekko-Espoo TuTo Jukurit
Format
Regular season: All teams play 60 matches. Each match consists of 60 minutes regulation time, and in the event of a tie, the winner is decided by a three-on-three sudden death, 5-minute overtime. Ties after overtime are decided by a shootout, where each team has three shooters in the beginning. If the game is tied after three shooters, the shootout will be decided by individual shooters against one another until one scores and the other does not.
Scoring: A win in regulation time is worth three points, a win by sudden death overtime two points, a loss by sudden death overtime one point and a loss in regulation time zero points. Teams will be ranked by points, and teams tied by points are ranked by the greater number of wins in regulation.
Playoffs: The four best teams at the conclusion of regular season proceed directly to quarter-finals. Teams placing between fifth and twelfth (inclusive) will play preliminary play-offs best-out-of-five – the four winners take the last four slots to quarter-finals. All series since then are best-of-seven. Losers of the semi-finals play a bronze medal match. Teams are paired up for each round according to regular season results so that the highest-ranking team will play against the lowest-ranking, second highest against the second lowest, and so on. Higher-ranking teams get home advantage. Each playoff match consists of a 60-minute regulation time which in the event of a tie is followed by extra 20-minute periods of 5-on-5 sudden death overtime, in which the first team to score wins.
Relegation: The 16th and 15th placed teams will play in the playout series to decide which team plays against the Mestis champion.
Scheduling: The regular season begins around mid-September. It takes a one-and-half-week break around the end of October to the beginning of November, when Team Finland competes in Karjala Tournament. There is a one-week Christmas break. During Winter Olympic years, a break is reserved for the Winter Olympic Games. The regular season is completed around mid-March and preliminary playoffs ensue almost immediately. The playoffs are completed by mid-April, so that all players are available for the World Championships.
Winner
The winners of the playoffs receive gold medals and the Kanada-malja, the championship trophy of the Liiga. The winners of the regular season receive a trophy (Harry Lindbladin muistopalkinto) as well, though it is considered less prestigious than the bronze medals of the playoffs.
Previous winners
1976 – TPS 1977 – Tappara 1978 – Ässät 1979 – Tappara 1980 – HIFK 1981 – Kärpät 1982 – Tappara 1983 – HIFK 1984 – Tappara 1985 – Ilves 1986 – Tappara 1987 – Tappara 1988 – Tappara 1989 – TPS 1990 – TPS 1991 – TPS 1992 – Jokerit 1993 – TPS 1994 – Jokerit 1995 – TPS 1996 – Jokerit 1997 – Jokerit 1998 – HIFK 1999 – TPS 2000 – TPS 2001 – TPS 2002 – Jokerit 2003 – Tappara 2004 – Kärpät 2005 – Kärpät 2006 – HPK 2007 – Kärpät 2008 – Kärpät 2009 – JYP 2010 – TPS 2011 – HIFK 2012 – JYP 2013 – Ässät 2014 – Kärpät 2015 – Kärpät 2016 – Tappara 2017 – Tappara 2018 – Kärpät 2019 – HPK 2020 – Cancelled because of the Coronavirus pandemic 2021 – Lukko 2022 – Tappara 2023 – Tappara 2024 – Tappara 2025 – KalPa 2026 – Tappara
All time statistical leaders
Top 10 regular-season scoring leaders These are the top-ten regular season point-scorers in SM-liiga history. Figures are updated after each completed SM-liiga regular season. – current player Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
Points Player Pos GP G A Pts Janne Ojanen C 876 283 516 799 Arto Javanainen C 688 462 330 792 Ville Vahalahti LW 977 260 427 687 Kristian Kuusela LW 1107 280 458 738 Jari Lindroos C 649 230 432 662 Esa Keskinen C 478 215 443 658 Matti Hagman C 432 217 432 649 Risto Jalo C 594 275 409 646 Juha-Pekka Haataja RW 881 256 326 582 Raimo Helminen C 751 161 420 581
Top 10 regular-season scoring leaders (imports) These are the top-ten regular season point-scorers for import players in SM-liiga history. Figures are updated after each completed SM-liiga regular season. – current player Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Points Player Pos GP G A Pts Éric Perrin C 643 189 343 532 Otakar Janecký C 450 133 346 479 Aleksandr Barkov LW 518 135 281 416 Darren Boyko C 476 171 236 407 Jan Čaloun RW 298 145 230 375 Vjačeslavs Fanduļs C 476 148 211 359 Tomáš Záborský C 468 170 182 352 Allan Measures D 619 100 238 338 Shayne Toporowski RW 464 135 185 320 Stefan Öhman C 419 104 160 264
Top 10 regular-season games played (goaltender) These are the top-ten most regular season games played by a goaltender in SM-liiga history. Figures are updated after each completed SM-liiga regular season. – current player
Leaderboard Player GP Eero Kilpeläinen 518 Pasi Kuivalainen 517 Jukka Tammi 510 Sakari Lindfors 471 Jussi Markkanen 471 Hannu Kamppuri 460 Ari-Pekka Siekkinen 447 Mika Lehto 404 Petri Vehanen 399 Teemu Lassila 388
Trophies
The following trophies are awarded by the SM-liiga:
Harry Lindblad memorial trophy – SM-liiga Regular season winner Kultainen kypärä ("Golden helmet") – best player as voted by SM-liiga players Kalevi Numminen trophy – best coach Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy – rookie of the year Matti Keinonen trophy – most effective player Raimo Kilpiö trophy – most gentlemanly player Urpo Ylönen trophy – best goaltender Pekka Rautakallio trophy – best defenseman Aarne Honkavaara trophy – most goals scored in the regular season ("best goal scorer") Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy – most points scored during the regular season Lasse Oksanen trophy – best player during the regular season Jari Kurri trophy – best player during the playoffs Unto Wiitala trophy – best referee during the regular season Pentti Isotalo trophy – best linesman during the regular season Golden whistle trophy – best referee of the year, voted by players
In 1995, the trophies were named after Finnish hockey legends. Before that, trophies were named after sponsors.
Video games Teams from the league have appeared in EA Sports' NHL series, first in NHL 2001 and later on since NHL 2004.
See also List of SM-liiga seasons List of Finnish ice hockey champions Mestis Naisten Liiga SM-sarja Ice hockey in Finland Leijonat
References
External links