You make it sound like Sport is some newcomer from Suomi-sarja that's made a once in a million years run to claim 2nd spot and will fold midway through the first Liiga season. Last time I checked, Sport has won the Mestis 3 times in the past 5 years, where the other 3 candidates combined have managed to win it once. Just sayin'.Accepting the second place team whilst bypassing the champions stinks. Sport is not in the League today because they simply have not been good enough to claim a spot in the past. No difference this year. It's a shame the superior team in the larger city with a more up to date arena is being neglected in favour of perennial also rans. I presume Tepsi must be happy.
I don't see how Turku could have 2 teams in Liiga. How much filled is the TuTo arena btw?
When decisions like these are not made by what happens on the ice, I can feel the pain and understand it but if you want to be a Liiga team, the financial situation is more important.
Of all these Mestis teams wanting the spot, I think Sport is only one that can survive.
So I heard Liiga is being a closed league for next season. What a shame.
So I heard Liiga is being a closed league for next season. What a shame.
Closing the league in early 00's have made the gap bigger.Is the divide so wide between the worst team in the SM ligga and the best team in the mestis that the Ligga team always dominates the best team of the Mestis in a promotion/qualification series? Thanks for responding....
Please excuse my ignorance as I'm not ultra knowledgeable on Finnish hockey. So is it because one team is already moving up (Vassa) to replace Jokerit that SM ligga is closing itself off to a potential winner of the Mestis? In a normal year would the winner of the Mestis play in a series with the bottom team or two teams from the SM ligga? It just seems as though no team ever comes up from the Mestis. Is the divide so wide between the worst team in the SM ligga and the best team in the mestis that the Ligga team always dominates the best team of the Mestis in a promotion/qualification series? Thanks for responding....
From what I've heard, teams can apply to join Liiga in the future. As I've understood it, the only way to get relegated is to have financial troubles (?), and to get promoted, you need to be strong financially. Awful, I suffer! The worst part is that the Swedish Hockey League wants to follow this aswell, just because Hockeyallsvenskan (2nd division) has become a strong market, and actually competes with SHL!
The problem with Mestis is that Sport really are the only team that have the financial backing to play in Lüga. Only a few other clubs meets the arena requirement but are in such a poor financial shape that they couldn't survive long.
That's too bad. The result of having a closed league!
The problem with Mestis is that Sport really are the only team that have the financial backing to play in Lüga. Only a few other clubs meets the arena requirement but are in such a poor financial shape that they couldn't survive long.
This. Sport has had Mestis's largest budget for the last 10 years running, not spending more or raising more from sponsors because they've been stuck in Mestis limbo. No point in overspending to get a loss and try to beat the Lüga team (probably losing in the process) and no sponsor sees the need to pay more for a hardly followed league.
While TuTo have got their act together the last few years, Mr Hamburgers is burning his own money and Sport has Mr Pizza on the backburner. So money raising potential, for Sport, is much larger than the other Mestis teams.
They're not 5th best. 2nd best in regular season, lost fight in playoffs. It happens to everyone from time to time, does not mean they are the 5th best team.
If Kärpät lose in round 1 does that mean that they are 5th in Lüga despite setting a new points record? Of course not