Brynäs left the Premier League – and the debate about more teams in the SHL is gaining new energy.
Among others via hockey legend Peter Forsberg.
– I think we should have 16 teams in the SHL. There are many good hockey cities that can play in the SHL. Then three teams would come out and advance, so it’s not nearly impossible to get into the SHL, as it is today, says Forsberg.
For the first time in 63 years, Brenas will not play in the Premier League next season. A new reality awaits Brynäs with matches in the second highest league and they will also have to go through the eye of a needle if they want to return to the SHL.
I’ve tried many teams for several years – like Södertälje, Modo, Björklöven and AIK. HV71 went out and came back in – right away. But that rarely happens.
Controversy over the number of teams in the SHL exists and flares up all the time. But when teams leave the top flight, it is lifted and strengthened.
Hockey icon Peter Forsberg, who turns 50 this summer, saw Modo retire seven years ago and the team is still in Hockeyallsvenskan.
“You have to go up three teams every season.”
– I’m not saying this because Modo is going to SHL. I say this because I believe that 16 teams in the SHL is good for Swedish hockey in the long term, more hockey cities can offer SHL hockey and more players can train in a higher league. I can see there will be a northern division and a division with teams from southern Sweden, so there will be more matches between two derby-type contenders, says Forsberg and continues:
– Then I think it will be easier to come back if you leave. Three teams need to be promoted each season, and if you have 16 teams in the higher league, that’s reasonable. Perhaps that first series in hockey allsvenskan rises immediately and teams 2-9 play-off for the other two places.
Forsberg struggles with what Brenas went through on Thursday night and what lies ahead for them.
– When you leave, there is a lot of pressure and it’s not fun. After all, I know Nicklas Bäckström and I sent him an SMS in the SMS group where we are both members. I wrote that I felt sorry for him, Brenas and his javel, and that I knew how hard the next day would be.
“I like to hear arguments.”
The SHL, or the Elite Series as it was called at the time, was formed in 1975 and involved ten teams, with nine and ten teams moving up to Division I.
In 1987, the first series was expanded to twelve teams, and the two worst placed teams finished at Christmas in the Allsvenskan.
In 2015, the SHL expanded to 14 teams and the two worst placed teams had to remain eligible. Today there are still 14 teams, but only one is out.
Would like to hear arguments for not expanding the series to 16 teams? There are many good hockey cities that can assert themselves in the Premier League and the NHL has expanded its league over the years to include both Canada and the United States thus getting better bargains when negotiating different agreements. Then the odds of getting one or two Stockholm teams into the SHL increase. Of course, the biggest city in Sweden has to be represented in the top league and I remember when Los Angeles didn’t have a team in the NFL and what happened next.
In addition to more teams in the Premier League, Forsberg is passionate about supporting progress in the league system for teams in Hockeyallsvenskan. He has seen his Modo strongly supported in the second highest league and the same with Björklöven, Södertälje and, for example, AIK.
You want the same system as in the Premier League
– In the English Premier League, three teams leave each season and three new teams advance to the Premier League. I think we can have the same system. Today, it is almost impossible to get access to SHL. HV71 managed to make a comeback right away, but they were close to being unsuccessful and played with a lineup that cost twice as much as other teams. Today there are many good teams in Hockeyallsvenskan and just take a look at the Sportbladet poll which is more interesting, Hockeyallsvenskan or SHL – this vote ended in a tie. And that probably shouldn’t be the case, Forsberg concludes.
In relation to the current series arrangement, the agreement is until 2025 and should be assessed in 2024/25.
It will be a general meeting decision at the annual meeting in June 2025. If there is something to change, an adjustment will be made in 2025/26 and the closest change to the new series order is 26/27.