# 2022–23 SHL season

The 2022–23 SHL season was the 48th season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began on 17 September 2022 and ended on 9 March 2023, where it was then followed by the playoffs and the relegation playoffs.
The Växjö Lakers completed their second league and playoff double in three seasons; having finished three points clear of Skellefteå AIK after the 52-game regular season, the two teams met again in the playoff final with the Lakers prevailing 4–1 in the best-of-seven series.

## Teams

The league consists of 14 teams; HV71 returned to the SHL after one season in the HockeyAllsvenskan, where they won the 2021–22 title. Djurgårdens IF were relegated to the HockeyAllsvenskan at the end of the previous season, and as a result, Stockholm was not represented by a top-division team for the first time. In the end of the season, Brynäs was relegated for the first time ever, leaving Färjestad as the only team to have played every season in the league since it was founded.
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Brynäs IF | Gävle | Monitor ERP Arena | 7,909 |
| Frölunda HC | Gothenburg | Scandinavium | 12,044 |
| Färjestad BK | Karlstad | Löfbergs Arena | 8,647 |
| HV71 | Jönköping | Husqvarna Garden | 7,000 |
| Leksands IF | Leksand | Tegera Arena | 7,650 |
| Linköping HC | Linköping | Saab Arena | 8,500 |
| Luleå HF | Luleå | Coop Norrbotten Arena | 6,300 |
| Malmö Redhawks | Malmö | Malmö Arena | 13,000 |
| IK Oskarshamn | Oskarshamn | Be-Ge Hockey Center | 3,275 |
| Rögle BK | Ängelholm | Catena Arena | 5,150 |
| Skellefteå AIK | Skellefteå | Skellefteå Kraft Arena | 6,001 |
| Timrå IK | Timrå | NHC Arena | 6,000 |
| Växjö Lakers | Växjö | Vida Arena | 5,700 |
| Örebro HK | Örebro | Behrn Arena | 5,150 |

## Regular season

Each team played 52 games, playing each of the other thirteen teams four times: twice on home ice, and twice away from home. Points were awarded for each game, where three points were awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the league champion.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Växjö Lakers | 52 | 27 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 153 | 111 | +42 | 102 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Skellefteå AIK | 52 | 27 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 165 | 118 | +47 | 99 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Färjestad BK | 52 | 24 | 7 | 4 | 17 | 154 | 139 | +15 | 90 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 4 | Örebro HK | 52 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 155 | 141 | +14 | 83 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 5 | Timrå IK | 52 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 137 | 130 | +7 | 81 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 6 | Frölunda HC | 52 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 140 | 139 | +1 | 81 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 7 | IK Oskarshamn | 52 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 165 | 159 | +6 | 78 | Qualification to Eighth-finals |
| 8 | Leksands IF | 52 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 131 | 136 | −5 | 77 | Qualification to Eighth-finals |
| 9 | Rögle BK | 52 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 22 | 149 | 158 | −9 | 72 | Qualification to Eighth-finals |
| 10 | Luleå HF | 52 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 21 | 117 | 130 | −13 | 71 | Qualification to Eighth-finals |
| 11 | HV71 | 52 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 21 | 138 | 151 | −13 | 68 | |
| 12 | Linköping HC | 52 | 16 | 4 | 11 | 21 | 133 | 165 | −32 | 67 | |
| 13 | Brynäs IF (R) | 52 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 26 | 134 | 171 | −37 | 62 | Qualification to Play Out |
| 14 | Malmö Redhawks | 52 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 25 | 133 | 156 | −23 | 61 | Qualification to Play Out |

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

The following shows the top ten players who led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season. If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Antti Suomela | IK Oskarshamn | 51 | 37 | 29 | 66 | +20 | 45 |
| Patrik Karlkvist | IK Oskarshamn | 52 | 23 | 38 | 61 | +11 | 14 |
| Adam Tambellini | Rögle BK | 49 | 23 | 23 | 46 | –14 | 14 |
| Jonathan Pudas | Skellefteå AIK | 50 | 11 | 34 | 45 | +12 | 28 |
| Oscar Möller | Skellefteå AIK | 48 | 23 | 21 | 44 | +19 | 10 |
| Jiří Smejkal | IK Oskarshamn | 49 | 23 | 20 | 43 | +3 | 30 |
| André Petersson | HV71 | 47 | 21 | 21 | 42 | +3 | 16 |
| Jonathan Dahlén | Timrå IK | 52 | 20 | 22 | 42 | +8 | 20 |
| Ahti Oksanen | IK Oskarshamn | 52 | 20 | 22 | 42 | +17 | 10 |
| Rodrigo Ābols | Örebro HK | 51 | 19 | 22 | 41 | –2 | 12 |

#### Leading goaltenders

The following shows the top ten goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they had played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
| Emil Larmi | Växjö Lakers | 31 | 1850:58 | 21 | 9 | 50 | 8 | 93.35 | 1.62 |
| Linus Söderström | Skellefteå AIK | 30 | 1690:59 | 22 | 7 | 46 | 6 | 92.94 | 1.63 |
| Mantas Armalis | Leksands IF | 41 | 2364:12 | 24 | 16 | 86 | 4 | 92.07 | 2.18 |
| Joel Lassinantti | Luleå HF | 40 | 2304:41 | 16 | 23 | 84 | 6 | 89.57 | 2.19 |
| Jacob Johansson | Timrå IK | 47 | 2793:19 | 24 | 22 | 108 | 4 | 91.15 | 2.32 |
| Lars Johansson | Frölunda HC | 41 | 2336:54 | 19 | 19 | 93 | 3 | 91.01 | 2.39 |
| Jhonas Enroth | Örebro HK | 37 | 2238:12 | 22 | 15 | 93 | 2 | 90.54 | 2.49 |
| Adam Åhman | Växjö Lakers | 22 | 1297:20 | 13 | 9 | 54 | 2 | 89.51 | 2.50 |
| Matt Tomkins | Färjestad BK | 32 | 1917:37 | 20 | 12 | 81 | 2 | 91.15 | 2.53 |
| Tim Juel | IK Oskarshamn | 32 | 1915:26 | 18 | 13 | 83 | 2 | 92.14 | 2.60 |

## Playoffs

Ten teams qualify for the playoffs: the top six teams in the regular season have a bye to the quarterfinals, while teams ranked seventh to tenth meet each other (7 versus 10, 8 versus 9) in a preliminary playoff round.

### Format

In the first round, the 7th-ranked team meets the 10th-ranked team and the 8th-ranked team meets the 9th-ranked team for a place in the second round. In the second round, the top-ranked team will meet the lowest-ranked winner of the first round, the second-ranked team will face the other winner of the first round, the third-ranked team will face the sixth-ranked team, and the fourth-ranked team will face the fifth-ranked team. In the third round, the highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In each round the higher-seeded team is awarded home advantage. The meetings are in the first round played as best-of-three series, and in the later rounds as best-of-seven series. In the eighth-finals, the higher-seeded teams play at home for game 2 (plus 3 if necessary) while the lower-seeded teams play at home for game 1. In the later rounds, the higher-seeded teams are at home for games 1 and 3 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary) while the lower-seeded teams are at home for games 2 and 4 (plus 6 if necessary).

### Playoff bracket

| Eighth-finals Swedish: Åttondelsfinal | Eighth-finals Swedish: Åttondelsfinal | Eighth-finals Swedish: Åttondelsfinal | Quarter-finals Swedish: Kvartsfinal | Quarter-finals Swedish: Kvartsfinal | Quarter-finals Swedish: Kvartsfinal | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| | | | 1 | Växjö Lakers | 4 | | | | | | |
| 7 | IK Oskarshamn | 1 | 10 | Luleå HF | 3 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Luleå HF | 2 | | | | 1 | Växjö Lakers | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Frölunda HC | 2 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Skellefteå AIK | 4 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| | | | 9 | Rögle BK | 2 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| | | | | | | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | 1 | Växjö Lakers | 4 |
| | | | | | | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | 2 | Skellefteå AIK | 1 |
| | | | 3 | Färjestad BK | 3 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| 8 | Leksands IF | 1 | 6 | Frölunda HC | 4 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| 9 | Rögle BK | 2 | | | | 2 | Skellefteå AIK | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Örebro HK | 2 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Örebro HK | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Timrå IK | 3 | | | | | | |

### Eighth-finals
#### (7) IK Oskarshamn vs. (10) Luleå HF

* Luleå HF win series 2–1

#### (8) Leksands IF vs. (9) Rögle BK

* Rögle BK win series 2–1

### Quarter-finals
#### (1) Växjö Lakers vs. (10) Luleå HF

* Växjö Lakers win series 4–3

#### (2) Skellefteå AIK vs. (9) Rögle BK

* Skellefteå AIK win series 4–2

#### (3) Färjestad BK vs. (6) Frölunda HC

* Frölunda HC win series 4–3

#### (4) Örebro HK vs. (5) Timrå IK

* Örebro HK win series 4–3

### Semi-finals
#### (1) Växjö Lakers vs. (6) Frölunda HC

* Växjö Lakers win series 4–2

#### (2) Skellefteå AIK vs. (4) Örebro HK

* Skellefteå AIK win series 4–2

### Finals
#### (1) Växjö Lakers vs. (2) Skellefteå AIK

* Växjö Lakers win series 4–1

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the playoffs. If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Jonathan Pudas | Skellefteå AIK | 17 | 3 | 9 | 12 | +6 | 12 |
| Rickard Hugg | Skellefteå AIK | 16 | 0 | 12 | 12 | +2 | 6 |
| Oscar Möller | Skellefteå AIK | 17 | 7 | 4 | 11 | +5 | 0 |
| Linus Öberg | Örebro HK | 13 | 5 | 6 | 11 | +6 | 10 |
| Jonathan Dahlén | Timrå IK | 7 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Robert Rosén | Växjö Lakers | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +3 | 2 |
| Leo Carlsson | Örebro HK | 13 | 1 | 8 | 9 | +8 | 4 |
| Lukas Bengtsson | Växjö Lakers | 18 | 1 | 8 | 9 | +7 | 2 |
| Jonathan Johnson | Skellefteå AIK | 15 | 5 | 3 | 8 | +4 | 4 |
| Joachim Blichfeld | Växjö Lakers | 18 | 5 | 3 | 8 | +2 | 0 |

#### Leading goaltenders

The following shows the top five goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the playoffs.
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
| Emil Larmi | Växjö Lakers | 18 | 1150:09 | 12 | 6 | 25 | 4 | 93.80 | 1.30 |
| Linus Söderström | Skellefteå AIK | 16 | 1048:14 | 9 | 7 | 25 | 5 | 93.21 | 1.43 |
| Lars Johansson | Frölunda HC | 12 | 725:10 | 6 | 6 | 23 | 2 | 92.77 | 1.90 |
| Jhonas Enroth | Örebro HK | 12 | 762:08 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 0 | 92.26 | 2.13 |
| Mantas Armalis | Leksands IF | 3 | 189:48 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 88.33 | 2.21 |

## Play Out

The two bottom-placed teams from the regular season played a best-of-seven series, with the winner remaining in the SHL and the loser relegated to the second tier, the HockeyAllsvenskan. The higher-seeded team held home advantage over the series, playing at home for the odd-numbered games while the lower-seeded team was at home for the even-numbered games.
Brynäs IF's defeat in the series ended their 63-year run in the Swedish top flight.
* Malmö Redhawks win series 4–1

## SHL awards

| Award | Winner(s) |
| Guldhjälmen | Antti Suomela (IK Oskarshamn) |
| Guldpucken | |
| Honken Trophy | Linus Söderström (Skellefteå AIK) |
| Håkan Loob Trophy | Antti Suomela (IK Oskarshamn) |
| Rookie of the Year | Filip Bystedt (Linköping HC) |
| Salming Trophy | Jonathan Pudas (Skellefteå AIK) |
| Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy | Emil Larmi (Växjö Lakers) |
| Guldpipan | Linus Öhlund |