The SM-liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, but the league and association have an agreement of cooperation. SM is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruus, "Finnish championship".
Helsingin Jokerit are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland, that plays in Mestis. Jokerit plays its home games at Keravan jäähalli in Kerava. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga. The team was a part of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Western Conference starting in the 2014–15 season, making Finland the first Nordic country to have a team in the league.
The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (19), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1) and China (1) for a total of 22 clubs.
Hockey Club Dinamo Minsk is an ice hockey team based in Minsk, Belarus. They are members of the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League.
The 2010–11 KHL season was the third season of the Kontinental Hockey League. It was held from 8 September 2010 and ended on 16 April 2011.
Alex Grant is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently under contract with Barys Astana in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Grant was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 4th round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Steve Christopher Moses is an American professional ice hockey forward currently under contract with Swiss club, SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League (NL). He has also previously played in the KHL with Russian champions SKA Saint Petersburg. Quickness, scoring ability and shooting are considered to be the strongest sides of his gameplay, though his small size is considered a disadvantage in one-on-one situations.
The 2014–15 KHL season was the seventh season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The season started on 3 September with the Opening Cup between defending champions Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Dynamo Moscow, replacing Lev Praha, last year's runner up not participating this season.
HC Kunlun Red Star is a Chinese ice hockey club that joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) prior to the 2016–17 season.
The 2016–17 KHL season was the ninth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The season started on 22 August 2016 and ended on 16 April 2017. SKA Saint Petersburg defeated Metallurg Magnitogorsk four games to one to win their second Gagarin Cup Championship in three seasons.
Yegor Alexandrovich Rykov is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for Admiral Vladivostok of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Roman Borisovich Rotenberg is a Finnish and Russian entrepreneur, manager and ice hockey executive. He is first vice-president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, general manager of the Russia national ice hockey team, Gazprombank vice-president, member of the Kontinental Hockey League board of directors, Deputy Chairman of the KHL board, Deputy Chairman of the SKA Hockey Club board of directors, SKA CEO and vice-president, founder of Vitawin company. Founder of a number of other companies in the sports marketing, media and sports equipment markets. He is also active in these following fields: owner of the Hartwall Arena stadium, chairman of the Arena Events board of directors and is Gazprom Export's consultant on external communications.
Eeli Tolvanen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tolvanen was selected by the Nashville Predators in the first round, 30th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He was born in Vihti, Finland, but grew up in Huhmari, Finland.
The 2018–19 KHL season was the 11th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The season started on 1 September 2018 and ended on 19 April 2019. Continental Cup winners CSKA Moscow became the first team to win the Gagarin Cup finals in a series sweep, defeating Avangard Omsk in four games to win their first Gagarin Cup, after two previous Finals defeats.
The 2019 Gagarin Cup playoffs of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) began on 25 February 2019, with the top eight teams from each of the conferences, following the conclusion of the 2018–19 KHL regular season. The playoffs ended on 19 April 2019, when Continental Cup winners CSKA Moscow became the first team to win the Gagarin Cup finals in a series sweep, defeating Avangard Omsk in four games to win their first Gagarin Cup, after two previous Finals defeats.
The 2019–20 KHL season was the 12th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 24 teams that competed in 62 regular season games. The season began with the Opening Cup on 1 September 2019, and the regular championship ran until 27 February 2020. The playoffs were scheduled to take place from 1 March through until 30 April. The All-Star Weekend took place over 18–19 January 2020.
The 2020 Gagarin Cup playoffs of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) began on 1 March 2020, with the top eight teams from each of the conferences, following the conclusion of the 2019–20 KHL regular season. The playoffs were scheduled to finish no later than 25 April 2020.
The 2020–21 KHL season was the 13th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 23 teams that competed in 60 regular season games, beginning on 2 September 2020 and finishing on 27 February 2021. The playoffs were held from 2 March, culminating in Game 6 of the Gagarin Cup Finals on 28 April. Avangard Omsk won their first Gagarin Cup title, avenging their sweep in the finals of the 2019 Gagarin Cup playoffs, defeating CSKA Moscow by 4 games to 2.
The 2021–22 KHL season was the 14th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 24 teams that competed in 56 regular season games, beginning on 1 September 2021 and was scheduled to finish on 1 March 2022. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia resulted in more than 50 games being postponed prior to the break for the 2022 Winter Olympics, and in February, it was announced that no further regular season games would be played following the break. In the finals, CSKA beat Metallurg in seven games.
The 2022–23 KHL season is the 15th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 22 teams that competed in the record-breaking 68 regular season games, beginning on 1 September 2022 and ended on 26 February 2023.
