Short-term contracts

Short-term contracts and the possibility of signing players affected by the 2012–13 NHL lockout was a controversial issue for several months. The board of hockey operations for Elitserien (Hockeyligan) decided to continue rejecting short-term contracts (i.e. contracts not lasting for the entire season) on 23 August 2012.^[4] On 21 September 2012, the Swedish Competition Authority (SCA) examined the matter and responded with a ruling that allowed short-term contracts.^[5] Hockeyligan appealed the SCA ruling to the Market Court. On 18 December 2012, the Market Court ruled against the SCA and allowed Hockeyligan to forbid short-term contracts.^[6] The uncertainty and concerns of legal punishment caused a number of Elitserien clubs to refrain from signing short-term contracts and await the Market Court's decision. In the end, Cody Franson played 26 Elitserien games with Brynäs, Alexander Steen played 20 games with Modo, and Matt Duchene played 19 games and Viktor Stålberg 11 games with Frölunda before their short-term contracts expired.

Outdoor game

For the fourth consecutive season, an outdoor game was played. As part of Brynäs IF celebrating their 100th year as a club, they hosted Timrå IK on December 8, 2012, in a temporary arena called Gävlebocken ("Gävle Goat") Arena. Brynäs won the game 3–0 in front of 15,009 spectators.^[7][8]

Decline in attendance

The average attendance in Elitserien fell by 10.5% from 6,385 to 5,717 spectators per game, the lowest average since the 2002–03 season. The drop meant that Elitserien was fifth in average attendance among professional ice hockey leagues (fourth in Europe) – after the NHL, NLA, DEL and KHL.^[9][10] In the 2011–12 season, Elitserien had the second highest average attendance among professional hockey leagues (first in Europe).^[11]

There were several reasons for the decline; Frölunda HC saw an 18.1% decrease to an average of 8,588 fans per game. The second most attended team last season, Djurgårdens IF, was relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan. Nine of the eleven returning teams from last season had lower attendance numbers, with Skellefteå AIK and Luleå HF being the only teams to increase their average attendance. HockeyAllsvenskan, on the other hand, improved its attendance average this season from 2,606 to 3,227 spectators per game, an improvement of 23.8% from the 2011–12 season.

Standings

x – clinched playoff spot; y – clinched regular season league title; e – eliminated from playoff contention; r – play in relegation series

Statistics

Scoring leaders

Updated as of the end of the regular season.^[12]
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

More information Player, Team ...

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Holloway, Bud Bud Holloway	Skellefteå AIK	55	20	51	71	+25	36
Söderberg, Carl Carl Söderberg	Linköpings HC	54	31	29	60	+18	48
Lindström Joakim Lindström	Skellefteå AIK	53	18	36	54	+11	56
Arlbrandt, Pär Pär Arlbrandt	Linköpings HC	54	21	32	53	+25	28
Little, Broc Broc Little	AIK	55	16	30	46	–3	24
Krog, Jason Jason Krog	HV71	55	17	26	43	+16	18
Hjalmarsson, Simon Simon Hjalmarsson	Linköpings HC	55	12	31	43	+21	10
Lindberg, Oscar Oscar Lindberg	Skellefteå AIK	55	17	25	42	+1	54
Järnkrok, Calle Calle Järnkrok	Brynäs IF	53	13	29	42	–2	12
Lee, Chris Chris Lee	Färjestad BK	54	12	29	41	+20	30

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Leading goaltenders

These are the leaders in GAA among goaltenders who have played at least 40% of the team's minutes. Updated as of the end of the regular season.^[13]

GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

More information Player, Team ...

Player	Team	GP	TOI	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Salak, Alexander Alexander Salák	Färjestad BK	41	2452:44	66	7	.939	1.61
Eriksson, Joacim Joacim Eriksson	Skellefteå AIK	30	1726:17	48	5	.931	1.67
Gustafsson, Johan Johan Gustafsson	Luleå HF	33	2016:10	57	4	.933	1.70
Engstrand, Christian Christian Engstrand	Linköpings HC	34	1934:05	61	6	.936	1.89
Hudacek, Julius Július Hudáček	Frölunda HC	48	2894:00	91	5	.930	1.89
Lundström, Joakim Joakim Lundström	Timrå IK	25	1506:57	50	2	.927	1.99
Wesslau, Gustaf Gustaf Wesslau	HV71	43	2522:35	84	7	.928	2.00
Svensson, Markus Markus Svensson	Skellefteå AIK	27	1587:22	54	3	.920	2.04
Starkbaum, Bernhard Bernhard Starkbaum	Modo Hockey	46	2625:43	90	8	.933	2.06
Norrena, Fredrik Fredrik Norrena	Växjö Lakers	46	2725:19	95	6	.919	2.09

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Playoff bracket

In the first round, the highest remaining seed chose which of the four lowest remaining seeds to be matched against. In the second round, the highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In each round the higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. Each best-of-seven series follows an alternating home team format: the higher-seeded team will play at home for games 1 and 3 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team will be at home for game 2, 4 and 6 (if necessary).

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals: (1) Skellefteå AIK vs. (3) Luleå HF

The Finals became a matchup between the league's two northernmost teams: Skellefteå and Luleå. Skellefteå won three of the five regular-season games against Luleå; two of the five games had to be decided in a shootout. This was only the second playoff series between these two teams; in 2011, Skellefteå defeated Luleå in six games to advance to the Finals (where they eventually lost). This was Skellefteå's third consecutive Finals appearance (Skellefteå reached the Finals in 2011 and 2012), and their fourth overall excluding seasons before Elitserien was formed. Luleå made their first Finals appearance since losing the Swedish Championship to Färjestad three games to one in 1997, as well as their third appearance overall (Luleå became Swedish Champions in 1996).

Skellefteå won the series 4–0, and became Swedish champions for the first time since 1978, and only the second time in club history. Luleå became the first team since 2003 to get swept in the Finals, in four straight games. Skellefteå finished the playoffs with a 12–1 record, the best playoff record since Färjestad's playoff run in 2009.

In Game 4, Skellefteå clinched the Swedish Championship with a 4–0 shutout over Luleå. Goaltender Joacim Eriksson stopped all 32 shots against Skellefteå's crease. After the first period, Skellefteå was up 2–0, following goals by Oscar Möller at 3:33 and Erik Forssell at 15:22. 5:32 into the second period, Johan Forsberg netted his first goal of the playoffs to give Skellefteå a three-goal lead. With less than four minutes to go in the third period, Erik Forssell sealed the Swedish Championship for Skellefteå with an empty netter, his second goal of the game.

Statistics

Scoring leaders

Updated as of the end of the playoffs.^[15]
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

More information Player, Team ...

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Persson, Linus Linus Persson	Luleå HF	15	8	4	12	+4	6
Arlbrandt, Pär Pär Arlbrandt	Linköpings HC	10	7	5	12	+6	4
Lee, Chris Chris Lee	Färjestad BK	10	7	5	12	+5	6
Lindberg, Oscar Oscar Lindberg	Skellefteå AIK	13	4	8	12	+13	16
Klasen, Linus Linus Klasen	Luleå HF	14	4	8	12	–4	4
Hjalmarsson, Simon Simon Hjalmarsson	Linköpings HC	10	5	6	11	+5	8
Lindström, Joakim Joakim Lindström	Skellefteå AIK	13	4	7	11	+3	4
Olausson, Niklas Niklas Olausson	Luleå HF	15	1	10	11	+2	4
Forssell, Erik Erik Forssell	Skellefteå AIK	13	5	5	10	+6	2
Möller, Oscar Oscar Möller	Skellefteå AIK	13	5	5	10	+4	2

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Leading goaltenders

These are the leaders in GAA and save percentage among goaltenders who played at least 40% of the team's minutes. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded. Updated as of the end of the playoffs.^[16]

GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

More information Player, Team ...

Player	Team	GP	TOI	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Eriksson, Joacim Joacim Eriksson	Skellefteå AIK	10	623:01	11	3	.952	1.06
Ullmark, Linus Linus Ullmark	Modo Hockey	2	122:49	3	0	.955	1.47
Gustafsson, Johan Johan Gustafsson	Luleå HF	15	946:10	32	0	.925	2.03
Hudacek, Julius Július Hudáček	Frölunda HC	6	388:29	15	1	.920	2.32
Salak, Alexander Alexander Salák	Färjestad BK	10	616:06	24	1	.922	2.34

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