Many want to see an expansion of the teams in the SHL.
But not Håkan Loob.
– I am completely against it, he says to SVT.
The SHL is only a week away but discussions about a giant change in the league are ongoing. There has long been talk of a possible expansion of the teams in the league, and a process has begun to evaluate the whole thing, and eventually make the highest series in Sweden bigger.
Saw the proposal
Right now there are a number of long-established and historically successful clubs in the Hockeyallsvenskan. Associations such as Djurgården, Björklöven, Brynäs and AIK have all been promoted as clubs that belong in the top flight, and an expansion of the series would allow more teams to get a chance in the top flight.
But not everyone agrees that an expansion would be good. The icon Håkan Loob, now an expert in SVT, is completely against the proposal.
– As it looks right now, 14 teams are very good. Earlier I was in the mood that we would not go up to 14, but keep 12. That is to maintain a good quality as we have many players who leave the country to play in the NHL, AHL and other countries in Europe, Loob tells SVT.
He continues:
– Many are talking about an expansion. I wouldn’t recommend that. Personally, I’m totally against it.
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“Getting too watered down”
Håkan Loob is afraid that expanding the league would compromise the quality of the league too much.
– I think it will be too watered down. I understand that you want to have hockey in many places in long Sweden. But it’s also about quality. It is the highest league and we must be competitive worldwide. I wish for nothing more than for the quality to be such that we can call ourselves the second best league in the entire world, he says.
The SHL is also conducting an investigation into possibly changing the way teams leave – and enter – the league. Håkan Loob sees a potential change on that front, where there is currently a team that moves up from the Hockeyallsvenskan every season.
– You had the qualifying series before, which many thought was very interesting. The difficulty with that was that some teams might have nothing to play for after only three rounds. How much sporting justice is there then? Today it is known that one of the teams from the SHL leaves and one from the Hockey Allsvenskan moves up. I think you should mix in two teams, teams 13 and 14 in the SHL, but then both should have the chance to qualify against teams 1 and 2 in the Allsvenskan in the best of seven games, he says.
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