1996–97 SM-liiga season

Finnish ice hockey season The 1996–97 SM-liiga season was the 22nd season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland. 12 teams participated in the league, and Jokerit Helsinki won the championship.SM-liiga Standings 1996-97 https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/sm-liiga/standings/1996-1997 live https://web.archive.org/web/20260122234439/https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/sm-liiga/standings/1996-1997 2026-01-22 2026-03-27 Elite Prospects Standings Club GP W T L GF GA Diff Pts 1 Jokerit 50 35 4 11 192 116 +76 74 2 TPS 50 32 7 11 191 105 +86 71 3 HPK 50 28 7 15 191 143 +48 63 4 Ilves 50 26 7 17 183 147 +36 59 5 JYP 50 25 6 19 163 136 +27 56 6 Kiekko-Espoo 50 25 6 19 154 163 −9 51 7 Ässät 50 19 10 21 171 182 −11 48 8 Tappara 50 18 8 24 139 171 −32 44 9 HIFK 50 17 8 25 159 171 −12 42 10 Lukko 50 16 5 29 136 170 −34 37 11 SaiPa 50 13 8 29 118 181 −63 34 12 KalPa 50 8 5 37 116 228 −112 21 Source: Elite Prospects Playoffs March 2026 Quarterfinals Jokerit - Tappara 3:0 (3:1, 6:5 P, 4:0) TPS - Ässät 3:1 (1:3, 7:4, 6:3, 4:2) HPK - Kiekko-Espoo 3:1 (3:0, 4:3, 2:3, 4:3) Ilves - JYP 3:1 (4:2, 1:6, 4:1, 5:2) Semifinal Jokerit - Ilves 3:0 (7:3, 2:1, 4:2) TPS - HPK 3:2 (1:4, 3:5, 5:4, 2:1 P, 6:2) 3rd place HPK - Ilves 5:1 Final Jokerit - TPS 3:0 (3:2 P, 4:2, 4:0) Relegation First round KalPa - Haukat 3–0 on seriesMarch 2026 Kärpät - Karhut 3–0 on seriesMarch 2026 Final KalPa - Kärpät 3–0 on seriesMarch 2026 References External links SM-liiga official website Category:1996–97 in Finnish ice hockey Finnish Category:Liiga seasons