Jokerit

Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters of Helsinki) is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland, which competes in Mestis. For the 2023–24 season, Jokerit plays its home games at the Keravan jäähalli in Kerava and at the Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki.
Founded in 1967, the team has a rich history of success, having secured six league championships as a prominent member of the Finnish SM-liiga in the years 1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002. Additionally, Jokerit has three European championships to its name, having triumphed in the IIHF European Cup in 1994 and 1995, as well as the IIHF Continental Cup in 2003.
Starting in the 2014–15 season, Jokerit became part of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Western Conference, marking Finland as the first Nordic country to have a team competing in this international league. However, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Jokerit made the decision to withdraw from the 2022 KHL playoffs. This move was followed by the termination of several team sponsor and supplier contracts, including the home arena's name rights holder Hartwall, as a response to the invasion. As a result, on 5 April 2022, Jokerit officially announced their decision to withdraw from the league entirely.
Jokerit intended to return to Finland and expressed their intentions to join the Liiga. However, before they could submit the formal application, Liiga announced that they would not be accepting any new applications for at least the next two seasons. Nevertheless, Jokerit remained determined to return to ice hockey in Finland.
On 31 March 2023, they submitted their application to join Mestis, the second-tier league in Finland. On 3 May, Mestis announced that they had accepted Jokerit's application for the 2023–24 season which began on 21 September, marking the return of Jokerit to Finnish leagues after a decade.
==Logo and jerseys==
Jokerit originally had a logo designed by artist Jorma Hinkka, based on various joker cards. As compensation Hinkka received free tickets to Jokerit games but he never used them as he was not interested in ice hockey.
A new logo with Canadian-style speed lines was introduced in 1983 but Jokerit later reverted to the original in 1988. Notably, Nike designed a logo that was in use from 1998 to 2000. In 1997, The Hockey News ranked Jokerit's logo as the world's best among team insignias.
File:Jokerit logo 1983.png|The logo of Jokerit in 1983–1988.
File:Jokerit logo 1998.PNG|The logo of Jokerit in 1998–2000.
File:Jokerit logo 2019.png|The logo of Jokerit in 2019–2022.
File:Jokerit logo 2023.png|The logo of Jokerit since 2022.
The team's jerseys evolved over time. They began with blue and white, switched to red in 1973, and then back to blue in 1981. Different color combinations were used, including green and blue, and green and white, followed by green and purple. Eventually, the team returned to the original blue and white in 1997–98. In recent years, Jokerit shifted to yellow and black jerseys in 2019–2020, aiming to highlight the traditional logo and team colors. In 2023–2024 season all home games played in the Helsinki Ice Hall, Jokerit will play in green and purple retro jerseys and silver helmets.
==Honors==
===Champions===
* SM-liiga Kanada-malja (5): 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2002
* SM-sarja Kanada-malja (1): 1973
:* Finnish A-juniors (U20) (4): 1988, 1996, 1999, 2000
:* Finnish B-juniors (U18) (4): 1976, 1999, 2003, 2008
:* Finnish C-juniors (U16) (7): 1976, 1977, 1978, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2010
===Runners-up===
* SM-liiga Kanada-malja (5): 1983, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2007
* SM-liiga Kanada-malja (2): 1998, 2012
* SM-sarja Kanada-malja (1): 1971
===International===
* IIHF European Cup: 1994, 1995
* IIHF European Cup: 1992
* IIHF Continental Cup: 2003
* European Trophy (1): 2011
* Tournament Hameenlinna: 2014
* Puchkov Cup: 2014, 2016
* Puchkov Cup: 2017
* Puchkov Cup: 2015
* Bauer games: 2020, 2021
===Other awards===
*Aaro Kivilinnan Memorial Trophy (Best Finnish Club age classes combined): 1976, 1996, 1997 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003
*Harry Lindblad Trophy (SM-liiga regular season winner, since 1975): 1983, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2013
*I-Divisioona / Suomensarja, promotion to top league. (it was the second level of ice hockey in Finland): 1969, 1989
==Season-by-season record==
NOTE: Overtime rules have changed in professional hockey, as seen in this chart. RW= Regulation Win, D=Draw, OTW = Overtime or Shootout Win, OTL = Overtime or Shootout loss.
From 	To 	RW	D 	OTW	OTL
1967-68	2000-01	2 	1 	2 	0
2001-02	2002-03	2 	1 	2 	1
2004-05	Present	3 	N/A	2 	1
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, OTW = Overtime or shootout wins, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime or shootout losses, L = Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes 
Season 	League 	GP 	W 	OTW 	T 	OTL 	L 	Pts 	GF 	GA 	PIM 	Finish 	Postseason
1967-68	Suomensarja 	12 	7 	— 	1 	— 	4 	15 	76 	54 	— 	2nd 	No relegation playoffs arranged
1968-69	Suomensarja 	14 	11 	— 	2 	— 	1 	24 	95 	35 	— 	1st 	No relegation playoffs arranged. Promoted as the regular season winner
1969-70	SM-sarja 	22 	13 	— 	2 	— 	7 	28 	125 	78 	— 	5th 	No playoffs arranged
1970-71	SM-sarja 	32 	20 	— 	3 	— 	9 	43 	145 	97 	— 	2nd 	No playoffs arranged
1971-72	SM-sarja 	32 	18 	— 	3 	— 	11 	39 	132 	111 	— 	4th 	No playoffs arranged
1972-73	SM-sarja 	36 	29 	— 	3 	— 	4 	61 	193 	86 	— 	1st 	No playoffs arranged. Crowned champion as the regular season winner
1973-74	SM-sarja 	36 	20 	— 	5 	— 	11 	45 	192 	116 	— 	4th 	No playoffs arranged
1974-75	SM-sarja 	36 	18 	— 	4 	— 	14 	40 	174 	128 	— 	4th 	No playoffs arranged
1975-76	SM-liiga 	36 	17 	— 	2 	— 	17 	36 	169 	156 	— 	6th 	Did not qualify
1976-77	SM-liiga 	36 	14 	— 	5 	— 	17 	33 	137 	153 	— 	7th 	Did not qualify
1977-78	SM-liiga 	36 	7 	— 	3 	— 	26 	17 	125 	177 	— 	10th 	Stayed in the league through relegation playoffs
1978-79	SM-liiga 	36 	14 	— 	3 	— 	19 	31 	137 	181 	— 	8th 	Did not qualify
1979-80	SM-liiga 	36 	11 	— 	4 	— 	21 	26 	151 	199 	— 	9th 	Stayed in the league through relegation playoffs
1980-81	SM-liiga 	36 	6 	— 	3 	— 	27 	15 	114 	188 	— 	9th 	Stayed in the league through relegation playoffs
1981-82	SM-liiga 	36 	9 	— 	2 	— 	25 	20 	121 	178 	— 	9th 	Stayed in the league through relegation playoffs
1982-83	SM-liiga 	36 	27 	— 	1 	— 	8 	55 	193 	119 	— 	1st 	Lost final series (Kanada-malja) 2-3 (HIFK)
1983-84	SM-liiga 	37 	17 	— 	3 	— 	17 	37 	191 	162 	— 	7th 	Did not qualify
1984-85	SM-liiga 	36 	13 	— 	2 	— 	21 	28 	154 	176 	— 	8th 	Did not qualify
1985-86	SM-liiga 	36 	10 	— 	2 	— 	24 	22 	131 	181 	— 	9th 	Did not qualify
1986-87	SM-liiga 	44 	12 	— 	3 	— 	29 	27 	161 	226 	— 	10th 	Was relegated directly to I-Divisioona
1987-89	I-Div. 	44 	20 	— 	6 	— 	18 	46 	193 	182 	— 	7th 	Did not qualify
1988-90	I-Div. 	44 	30 	— 	4 	— 	10 	64 	278 	173 	— 	2nd 	Won relegation playoffs and was promoted to SM-liiga
1989-90	SM-liiga 	44 	15 	— 	3 	— 	26 	33 	165 	183 	— 	10th 	Did not qualify
1990-91	SM-liiga 	44 	17 	— 	6 	— 	21 	40 	150 	162 	— 	9th 	Did not qualify
1991-92	SM-liiga 	44 	28 	— 	3 	— 	13 	59 	195 	132 	— 	2nd 	Win final series (Kanada-malja), 4–1 (JyP HT)
1992-93	SM-liiga 	54 	28 	— 	7 	— 	13 	63 	185 	133 	— 	2nd 	Lost in 1st round, 0–3 (Ässät)
1993-94	SM-liiga 	48 	26 	— 	4 	— 	18 	56 	181 	131 	— 	3rd 	Win final series (Kanada-malja), 3–1 (TPS)
1994-95	SM-liiga 	50 	34 	— 	6 	— 	10 	74 	202 	122 	— 	1st 	Loss final series (silver medal), 2–3 (TPS)
1995-96	SM-liiga 	50 	31 	— 	11 	— 	8 	73 	190 	91 	— 	1st 	Win final series (Kanada-malja), 3–1 (TPS)
1996-97	SM-liiga 	50 	35 	— 	4 	— 	11 	74 	192 	116 	— 	1st 	Win final series (Kanada-malja), 3–0 (TPS)
1997-98	SM-liiga 	48 	24 	— 	5 	— 	19 	53 	139 	137 	— 	4th 	Won bronze medal game, 8–0 (K-Espoo)
1998-99	SM-liiga 	54 	31 	— 	3 	— 	20 	65 	171 	140 	— 	3rd 	Lost in 1st round, 0–3 (SaiPa)
1999-00	SM-liiga 	54 	27 	— 	9 	— 	18 	63 	147 	131 	— 	5th 	Lost final series (silver medal), 1–3 (TPS)
2000-01	SM-liiga 	56 	35 	— 	7 	— 	14 	77 	185 	133 	— 	1st 	Lost in 1st round, 2–3 (Kärpät)
2001-02	SM-liiga 	56 	29 	2 	9 	0 	16 	71 	160 	102 	— 	3rd 	Win final series (Kanada-malja), 3–1 (Tappara)
2002-03	SM-liiga 	56 	32 	3 	6 	0 	15 	76 	154 	108 	757 	2nd 	Lost bronze medal game, 0:3 (HPK)
2003-04	SM-liiga 	56 	23 	4 	7 	3 	19 	64 	131 	120 	869 	7th 	Lost in 2nd round, 2–4 (Kärpät)
2004-05	SM-liiga 	56 	34 	3 	— 	4 	15 	113 	163 	96 	743 	2nd 	Lost final series (silver medal), 1–3 (Kärpät)
2005-06	SM-liiga 	56 	19 	4 	— 	4 	29 	69 	149 	190 	1303 	11th 	Did not qualify
2006-07	SM-liiga 	56 	32 	6 	— 	3 	15 	111 	194 	144 	1243 	2nd 	Lost final series (silver medal), 0–3 (Kärpät)
2007-08	SM-liiga 	56 	29 	5 	— 	8 	14 	105 	179 	152 	1128 	3rd 	Lost bronze medal game, 3–4 (Tappara)
2008-09	SM-liiga 	58 	28 	4 	— 	6 	18 	98 	134 	132 	996 	4th 	Lost in 1st round, 1–4 (Kärpät)
2009-10	SM-liiga 	58 	22 	4 	— 	4 	28 	78 	144 	157 	901 	10th 	Lost in wild card round, 1–2 (Tappara)
2010-11	SM-liiga 	60 	25 	6 	— 	9 	20 	96 	165 	150 	811 	6th 	Lost in 1st round, 3–4 (HIFK)
2011-12	SM-liiga 	60 	24 	8 	— 	13 	15 	101 	165 	183 	770 	6th 	Won bronze medal game, 4:3 (2OT) (Espoo Blues)
2012-13	SM-liiga 	60 	28 	10 	— 	7 	15 	111 	168 	136 	778 	1st 	Lost in 2nd round, 2–4 (Lukko)
2013-14	Liiga 	60 	25 	5 	— 	8 	22 	93 	156 	145 	612 	7th 	Lost in wild card round, 0–2 (HPK)
2014-15	KHL 	60 	40 	2 	— 	2 	16 	119 	171 	136 	630 	2nd, Bobrov 	Lost in 2nd round, 1–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2015-16	KHL 	60 	36 	1 	— 	4 	19 	108 	167 	140 	773 	1st, Bobrov 	Lost in 1st round, 2–4 (Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod)
2016-17	KHL 	60 	29 	6 	— 	6 	19 	93 	149 	165 	763 	3rd, Bobrov 	Lost in 1st round, 0–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2017-18	KHL 	56 	29 	4 	— 	8 	15 	103 	151 	108 	— 	3rd, Bobrov 	Lost in 2nd round, 2–4 (CSKA Moscow)
2018-19	KHL 	62 	32 	5 	— 	6 	19 	80 	197 	164 	— 	2nd, Bobrov 	Lost in 1st round, 2–4 (Dynamo Moscow)
2019-20	KHL 	62 	28 	10 	— 	8 	16 	84 	184 	164 	— 	2nd, Bobrov 	Won in 1st round, 4–2 (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) Playoffs abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020-21	KHL 	60 	26 	6 	— 	9 	19 	73 	174 	153 	— 	2nd, Bobrov 	Lost in 1st round, 0–4 (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
2021-22	KHL 	47 	22 	7 	— 	6 	12 	64 	143 	113 	— 	2nd, Bobrov 	Lost in 1st round, 0–4* (Spartak Moscow)Withdrew from playoffs
2022–23	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.	Team was inactive because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and withdrawing from the KHL.
2023-24	Mestis 	0 	0 	0 	— 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	— 	— 	—
==External links==
*Official website
Category:Ice hockey teams in Finland