2012–13 Elitserien season

The 2012–13 Elitserien season was the 38th season of Elitserien. The regular season began on 13 September 2012 and ended on 5 March 2013. The playoffs began on 12 March 2013 and ended on 18 April 2013. The 2012–13 Elitserien season was the last season under the name "Elitserien"; on 17 June 2013, the league was renamed "Swedish Hockey League" (SHL).
Skellefteå AIK clinched the Swedish Championship for the first time since 1978, defeating Luleå HF 4–0 in the Finals. It was the team's second Swedish Championship in club history. Skellefteå also won the regular season for the first time since the 1980–81 season, and the second time in club history. Their 114-point finish is the highest amount of points since Färjestad BK won the 2001–02 regular season with 118 points. Luleå HF improved on the record for fewest goals surrendered in a 55-game regular season that they set last season by only having 102 goals scored against them.
In Kvalserien, Örebro HK (first SHL season) and Leksands IF qualified for the 2013–14 SHL season at the expense of Timrå IK and Rögle BK.
== Summary ==
===Short-term contracts===
Short-term contracts and the possibility of signing players affected by the 2012–13 NHL lockout was a controversial issue for several months. The board of hockey operations for Elitserien (Hockeyligan) decided to continue rejecting short-term contracts (i.e. contracts not lasting for the entire season) on 23 August 2012. On 21 September 2012, the Swedish Competition Authority (SCA) examined the matter and responded with a ruling that allowed short-term contracts. Hockeyligan appealed the SCA ruling to the Market Court. On 18 December 2012, the Market Court ruled against the SCA and allowed Hockeyligan to forbid short-term contracts. The uncertainty and concerns of legal punishment caused a number of Elitserien clubs to refrain from signing short-term contracts and await the Market Court's decision. In the end, Cody Franson played 26 Elitserien games with Brynäs, Alexander Steen played 20 games with Modo, and Matt Duchene played 19 games and Viktor Stålberg 11 games with Frölunda before their short-term contracts expired.
===Outdoor game===
For the fourth consecutive season, an outdoor game was played. As part of Brynäs IF celebrating their 100th year as a club, they hosted Timrå IK on December 8, 2012, in a temporary arena called Gävlebocken (["Gävle Goat") Arena. Brynäs won the game 3–0 in front of 15,009 spectators.
===Decline in attendance===
The average attendance in Elitserien fell by 10.5% from 6,385 to 5,717 spectators per game, the lowest average since the 2002–03 season. The drop meant that Elitserien was fifth in average attendance among professional ice hockey leagues (fourth in Europe) – after the NHL, NLA, DEL and KHL. In the 2011–12 season, Elitserien had the second highest average attendance among professional hockey leagues (first in Europe).
There were several reasons for the decline; Frölunda HC saw an 18.1% decrease to an average of 8,588 fans per game. The second most attended team last season, Djurgårdens IF, was relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan. Nine of the eleven returning teams from last season had lower attendance numbers, with Skellefteå AIK and Luleå HF being the only teams to increase their average attendance. HockeyAllsvenskan, on the other hand, improved its attendance average this season from 2,606 to 3,227 spectators per game, an improvement of 23.8% from the 2011–12 season.
== Regular season ==
2012–13 Elitserien season	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Skellefteå AIKy 	55	34	13	4	4 	170	107	 	114
Färjestad BKx 	55	27	14	7	7 	155	110	 	102
Luleå HFx 	55	25	12	9	9 	145	102	 	102
HV71x 	55	27	16	9	3 	155	124	 	102
Linköpings HCx 	55	27	19	4	5 	145	136	 	94
Frölunda HCx 	55	21	21	8	5 	123	126	 	84
Modo Hockeyx 	55	19	19	7	10	135	129	 	81
Brynäs IFx 	55	17	20	6	12	123	166	 	75
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	0	
AIKe 	55	16	25	7	7 	123	149	 	69
Växjö Lakers HCe 	55	14	26	7	8 	102	130	 	64
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	0	
Timrå IKr 	55	12	30	8	5 	100	127	 	57
Rögle BKr 	55	10	34	5	6 	104	174	 	46
x – clinched playoff spot; y – clinched regular season league title; e – eliminated from playoff contention; r – play in relegation series
== Playoffs ==
=== Playoff bracket ===
In the first round, the highest remaining seed chose which of the four lowest remaining seeds to be matched against. In the second round, the highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In each round the higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. Each best-of-seven series follows an alternating home team format: the higher-seeded team will play at home for games 1 and 3 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team will be at home for game 2, 4 and 6 (if necessary).
==Team Photos==
12-13AIK.jpg|AIK
12-13BryIF.jpg|Brynas IF
12-13FarBK.jpg|Färjestad BK
12-13FroInd.jpg|Frolunda HC
12-13HV71.jpg|HV71
12-13LulHF.jpg|Lulea HF
12-13ModHoc.jpg|MODO Hockey
12-13SkeAIK.jpg|Skelleftea AIK
== References ==
2012-13
Swe