2017–18 NL season

The 2017–18 National League season is the 80th season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the first season as the National League (NL). The change from National League A to National League was made at the end of the 2016–17 season.
ZSC Lions won their 9th NL title, defeating HC Lugano in game 7 of the finals. SC Bern won the regular season for the second consecutive year. EHC Kloten were relegated to the Swiss League, while SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers won promotion to the NL for 2018–19.
==Teams==
Team 	City 	Arena 	Capacity
HC Ambrì-Piotta 	Ambrì 	Valascia 	6,500
SC Bern 	Bern 	PostFinance-Arena 	17,031
EHC Biel 	Biel/Bienne 	Tissot Arena 	6,521
HC Davos 	Davos 	Vaillant Arena 	6,800
Fribourg-Gottéron 	Fribourg 	BCF Arena 	6,500
Genève-Servette HC	Geneva 	Patinoire des Vernets	7,135
EHC Kloten 	Kloten 	Swiss Arena 	7,719
Lausanne HC 	Lausanne 	Temporary Arena 	6,700
HC Lugano 	Lugano 	Pista La Resega 	7,800
SCL Tigers 	Langnau im Emmental	Ilfis Stadium 	6,000
ZSC Lions 	Zürich 	Hallenstadion 	11,200
EV Zug 	Zug 	Bossard Arena 	7,200
==Coaching changes==
===Off-season===
Luca Cereda replaced Gordie Dwyer as head coach of HC Ambrì-Piotta for the 2017-18 season.
Mark French took over the helm of HC Fribourg-Gottéron for the 2017-18 season, replacing Larry Huras.
Craig Woodcroft was named head coach of Genève-Servette HC after Chris McSorley stepped down of the position and was named General Manager of the team.
===In-season===
Dan Ratushny was fired by Lausanne on October 11, 2017, after posting a 3-0-3-4 record through 10 games this season. He led Lausanne to the playoffs at the conclusion of the 2016-17 regular season, his only season at the helm of this team. Yves Sarault, who was serving as head coach of Lausanne HC's junior team at the time, stepped in to fill the spot as interim head coach, before being named head coach through the end of the current season.
Pekka Tirkkonen was fired by EHC Kloten on October 16, 2017, following a five-game losing streak and after posting a 2-0-0-11 record through 13 games this season, sitting dead last in the National League. Niklas Gaellstedt who was serving as an assistant coach at the time, replaced Tirkkonen as head coach of the team for the time being. On October 24, 2017, Kevin Schlaepfer was named head coach of the team for the remainder of the season and through the 2019-20 season.
Mike McNamara was fired by EHC Biel on November 25, 2017, after a 3-0 loss to the last team in the standings, EHC Kloten, the previous day. McNamara posted an 8-2-2-12 record through 24 games this season, sitting 7th in the standings at the time. Martin Steinegger, the General Manager of the organization, took over the helm of the team as interim head coach.
==Arenas==
HC Ambrì-Piotta is playing its final years in the old Valascia, as construction for their new building are set to begin in the spring of 2018 and should be ready in time for the 2020/21 NL season. The new Valascia will seat 7,000 people and will be located in the same area as the current one.http://valasciaimmobiliare.ch/?lang=en
HC Davos' Vaillant Arena is set to undergo major renovation at the end of the season to upgrade most of the stands, the concourse and the locker rooms. The total capacity will not change and renovation will cost about CHF 22 million.
HC Fribourg-Gottéron's plans to rebuild the BCF Arena at the end of the 2016-17 season were postponed to after the current season. Construction which will cost about CHF 70 million will start in March 2018 and the arena's capacity will be increased from 6,500 to 8,500. Renovation will last 2 years and should be over in the summer of 2020.
The Patinoire des Vernets in Geneva is set to undergo minor renovation during the first national team break in November. The VIP area will be expanded to add an additional 170 seats and standing room on the north side will be brought closer to the ice rink.
This is Lausanne HC's first of two seasons playing in a temporary arena. The arena seats 6,700 people and cost CHF 11 million for the two seasons. The new arena will be ready for the 2019/20 season with a seating capacity of 10,000.
Due to popular demand, EV Zug had to increase the Bossard Arena's total capacity to 7,200. These seats are located against the boards, next to the penalty boxes and at ice level.
==Regular season==
==Player statistics==
===Scoring leaders===
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	Lausanne HC 	50	13	44	57	+7 	4
 	ZSC Lions 	46	26	24	50	+14	58
 	EV Zug 	46	22	28	50	+14	18
 	Lausanne HC 	49	25	25	50	+11	64
 	EV Zug 	44	12	37	49	+24	32
 	SC Bern 	48	14	34	48	+13	10
 	SC Bern 	46	18	29	47	+10	39
 	EHC Biel 	47	13	29	42	+22	89
 	HC Lugano 	48	19	23	42	+3 	6
 	HC Ambrì-Piotta	47	19	22	41	-6 	86
===Leading goaltenders===
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes.
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	SC Bern 	46	2776	33	0	13	94 	8	.929	2.03
 	ZSC Lions 	32	1872	16	0	15	66 	2	.919	2.12
 	EV Zug 	47	2858	31	0	16	109	5	.927	2.29
 	Fribourg-Gottéron 	38	2308	21	0	17	89 	2	.926	2.29
 	EHC Biel 	47	2805	27	0	20	109	2	.926	2.33
 	SC Langnau Tigers 	39	2198	19	0	20	90 	1	.918	2.46
 	EHC Kloten 	41	2381	14	0	27	104	1	.918	2.62
 	HC Lugano 	42	2431	22	0	18	110	4	.921	2.72
 	Genève-Servette HC	32	1832	14	0	17	86 	2	.909	2.81
 	ZSC Lions 	20	1150	9 	0	10	53 	1	.897	2.77
==Playoffs==
==References==
==External links==
* (In German)
* (In French)
1
Swiss
Category:National League (ice hockey) seasons