The 2016–17 SM-liiga season was the 42nd season of the

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

, the top level of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, since the league's formation in 1975.

Teams

Regular season

The top six teams advance directly to the quarter-finals, while teams placing 7th through 10th play in the wild-card round for the final two spots. The SM-liiga is a closed league and there is no relegation. Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) 3-point wins 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points.

Playoffs

Bracket

Wild card round (best-of-three)

(7) Ässät vs. (10) Ilves

Ilves wins the series 2-1.

(8) Kärpät vs. (9) HIFK

HIFK wins the series 2-0.

Quarterfinals (best-of-seven)

(1) Tappara vs. (10) Ilves

Tappara wins the series 4-3.

(2) TPS vs. (9) HIFK

HIFK wins the series 4-2.

(3) KalPa vs. (6) Pelicans

KalPa wins the series 4-1.

(4) JYP vs. (5) HPK

JYP wins the series 4-3.

Semifinals (best-of-seven)

(1) Tappara vs. (9) HIFK

Tappara wins the series 4-1.

(3) KalPa vs. (4) JYP

KalPa wins the series 4–3.

Bronze medal game

Finals (best-of-seven)

Tappara wins the finals 4–2.

Final rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 Liiga season Liiga seasons

Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mesti ...