Ice hockey | The Joker’s comeback plan dumbfounded the League’s management: “No facts have come from any direction on any issues”

Helsinki The Jokerit secured a return to the hockey SM league in the spring of 1989, when they defeated Oulu Kärpät in the league qualifiers with a 3–2 victory. Striker promise Teemu Selänne was the most effective player in the qualifiers.

More than 33 years later, Selänte’s name is still in the headlines, when the Jokers’ return to the league is once again discussed.

This time, there is more action in the lockers than in the rink, and it speaks of a big change in Finnish ice hockey. In many situations, business takes precedence over sports. The league has not been open in a sporting sense for years.

What has also changed is that this time the aim is to reach the domestic main league as the second highest league level from abroad.

The Jokerit left the Eastern League KHL in February and want to return to domestic rinks, where it belonged before the 2014 Leap to the East.

The return of the color splash of the previous years of the league could be a boost, but the Joker’s road to the league is complicated with all the issues of ownership, hall and logo.

Ice hockey SM-liiga Oy outlined in July that all financial and ownership-related connections of the possible new Jokerit organization to Jokerit’s previous KHL project must be severed.

A little over a week ago, the League said that two separate entities have approached the League regarding the licensing process. Another of the parties was Naurava Narri Oy, which used Selänte’s face.

The Jokers lack a home hall, while the arena in Helsinki is Russian-owned, and therefore not suitable as a venue.

The Jokerit trademark, which also includes the logo, is owned by Helsingin Jokerit ry. The association said last Wednesday that it has handed over the trademark to a new background company to be managed under a long-term contract, and Jokereis had no influence for a long time Jari Kurri and Harry Harkimo have nothing to do with the new background company.

The Laughing Jester was eventually left out of the game.

“We were ready to take over the Jokers on September 1. We were sure that everything is ok”, Selänne said on Monday For Helsingin Sanomat.

of HS according to Naurava Narri demanded to cut the KHL connections, but the Helsinki Jokerit ry announced that negotiations should be held with Kurri.

“Kurri’s package” would have included, in addition to the representative team and A-youths, the hiring of Jokeri’s currently laid-off office staff for the relaunched league club, boxing gym equipment, game equipment and fan products.

According to Selänte and Säilynoja, the requirement was too much and an obstacle to getting a league license. The total costs of the package would have risen to more than half a million euros.

The league license application should be submitted no later than October 31, if the Jokerit would like to join the league for the 2023–24 season. There are many answers without questions. There are two months.

STT sought the chairman of the League Heikki HiltusCEO of the league Kati Kivimäki and chairman of the Helsinki Jokerit ry Kim Borgström to comment on how things have progressed since the parties’ previous announcements.

The league’s director of communications Tuomas Nyholm finally responded to the interview requests addressed to Hiltuse and Kivimäki and said that Liiga is now refraining from commenting.

No license applications have been submitted. The league management will be available to be interviewed by the media next week at the season opening ceremony in Tampere.

Coaching manager of the Jokers Olli-Pekka Yrjänheikki promised to forward the interview request to Borgström, whose contact information is not in the club’s possession on the website.

One the scenario regarding the Jokeri’s playing venue has been that they would share the Helsinki Ice Hall with HIFK according to the model of more than 25 years ago.

The media have also glimpsed Espoo’s arena as a game venue.

STT sought the CEO of HIFK Markus Lindström, who didn’t answer the phone, but asked to get in touch again via text message. He did not respond to an interview request sent to him.

CEO of Ilves Risto Jalo and CEO of Tappara Mika Aro messaged that they had nothing to comment on.

CEO of KooKoo Sakari Välimaa answered the phone.

“Everyone has seen that the last few weeks have been quite a circus. No facts have come from any direction on any issues. Then it is practically useless for us to comment on the issue before it comes up,” he said.

Jokers Kärpät, dropped in 1989, returned to the main series in 2000, when the team from Oulu defeated Lahti Pelicans in the qualifiers.

After that, the series was closed, but the Pelicans got to keep their place. Since then, KalPa, Vaasan Sport, KooKoo and Mikkelin Jukurit have qualified for the league. KalPa, KooKoo and Jukurit got the right to apply for a league license as champions of Mestis.

Kiekko-Espoo, which was one of Mesti’s top clubs in the last couple of seasons, told about its league goals last year, but the club’s operational director Antti Manninen doesn’t admit that he got depressed while watching the Jokerit news.

“The focus is on our own activities and our league project, which aims for two years from now and that we would then be league-eligible,” Manninen told STT.

Kiekko-Espoo’s goal would be to submit a league license application a year from now, aiming for the 2024–25 season. Manninen doesn’t knock the Joker’s intentions.

“It’s not our business to speculate on the intentions of other parties, we focus on what we’re doing.”

In the league 15 teams will play in the season starting in September, so the Jokerit would grow the series to historically large dimensions.

What about the hall situation in Espoo, would Jokerit and Kiekko-Espoo fit in the same hall?

“We focus on our own activities. And there are other activities here, such as Susijeng games, tennis Davis Cup, World Championship ringette and figure skating”, Manninen listed the arena’s upcoming offerings.