I am not comparing two years. I am comparing all seasons since 2008-09. I am talking about a trend. I remember the times when the SHL (Elitserien) was the most attended hockey league in Europe, now the SHL is 4th behind NL, KHL & DEL. So, who is growing & who is shrinking? Feel free to prove me wrong, I will admit it if my data are not correct.
See the graph. You can see the SHL/Elitserien was above 6200, now is below 6000. I do not comment on what has happened to your league. I just see the trend. And it is just your problem that you accept the clubs from such small markets with such a small venue. You can not blame others for your decisions.
I can not agree with you that the KHL is shrinking. Not at all. The KHL is the most growing hockey league in Europe (all aspects considered).