The SM league’s decision to call off the game was tough, but the timing raises questions, writes Urheilu’s news manager Pekka Aalto.
1.9. 16:14•Updated 1.9. 16:28
From the leadership’s point of view, the SM League now spectacularly threw its game bag in the middle of the locker room and staked out whose terms the SM League will be run on. The role was especially taken by the chairman of the SM league Heikki Hiltunen.
In the press release, it was detailed in detail why the series will stay on for at least two more seasons. There is hardly anything to point out on behalf of Pykäli, the SM league has done its homework. In the background are the voices of the league clubs and also the Ice Hockey Federation. The cell phone is therefore secured.
The timing of the new policy makes the situation interesting. Previously, it had been stated on many occasions that the time to submit a license application for the 2023–24 season is until the end of October this year. However, the SM league decided to call off the game two months before the deadline.
Let’s assume that a credible entity would appear in the background of the Jokers in the next few days. Preparing a license application in 7–8 weeks would hardly have been an impossible task.
Jokerit ate the oxygen from the media atmosphere
The reason behind the decision must be, at least in part, the fact that the league clubs could no longer cope with the rumor mill that revolved around the Jokers. The SM league will start soon, but the airspace in the media was filled with the Jokers.
If the situation had been allowed to drag on, the Jokers would have been on the wallpaper at least until October, maybe even longer. And it would have been out of sight of league clubs.
The frustration is understandable, because from the point of view of the SM league, it’s a time of searching. The operational management of the series is in new, promising hands, with a good tailwind behind it. The success of the Lions, the cool hall in Tampere and numerous high-quality players and teams provide excellent starting points for a season that is expected to be the most interesting ever. All this was falling to the feet of the Jokers.
The SC league’s alignment curbs the Jokerit mill, but does not stop it. There is no such power that would stop that mill, but now there is more on the puck agenda.
On Thursday, the Finnish Championship League also put the Kiekko-Espoo league project in the frame properly. In Espoo, a license application is being planned for the season 2024–25. Kiekko-Espoo has been working towards a league place for some time, while Jokerit has wandered in the KHL. SM-liiga made it clear that with just the name and logo of the Jokers, you don’t walk into SM-liiga like through the doors of a saloon.
Emphasizing the Mestis match underlines the SM League’s message that Jokerit is just as mortal as Kiekko-Espoo or any other club that wants to join the SM League. This reminder was necessary, but it had the flavor of a wink in the direction of the Jokers. That’s not it, I think the Joker camp needs some awakening.
The SM league, on the other hand, doesn’t need Jokers so badly right now that its board, i.e. practically the current league clubs, would have to humiliate themselves in front of the jesters.
League open, finally?
The opening of the SM league and especially the restoration of the league qualifiers has been on the back burner for years. Now this discussion gained new momentum. Based on Thursday’s statements, it can be estimated that the Mestis season 2023–24 will be a merciless battle between Jokerit and Kiekko-Espoo, as far as Jokerit entering the series. So the value of Mesti will rise, at least momentarily.
The SM league and the Ice Hockey League are now getting playing time to think about the series as a whole. New openings are expected next spring at the latest. An educated guess is that the threshold between the two highest series levels will be lowered permanently in the next few years.