How good will Nicklas Bäckström be?
SHL has not experienced such a spectacular homecomer since Peter Forsberg moved home to Modo in 2009. The playing genius can make a success in a Brynäs that is chasing gold after the final loss to Luleå last season.
The question mark is of course about the body and more specifically the hip, which has meant that he has not played since 2023.
Can Luleå defend the SM gold?
No team has managed to defend an SM gold on the men's side since Skellefteå did it in 2014. Is it again a team from the north that will succeed? Several of the gold heroes are left, including the playoffs' MVP, defender Frédéric Allard. However, the club's big profile Linus Omark has said goodbye.
Will the chaos knock out Leksand?
Economic problems have plagued Leksand for many years, but last year's chaos with newly discovered minus posts that have led to a reduced player budget can cost the club dearly.
The classic club went back by 18.3 million last season after making a deficit of 13.3 million kronor the season before.
Before their seventh consecutive SHL season since the promotion in 2019, many are tipping that Leksand will be relegated.
Up or down in the "circus" HV71?
16 players have left and 13 new ones have arrived before the season. The HV71 circus is spinning at an unchanged pace and the team is constantly being rebuilt. Since the return to SHL was celebrated in the spring of 2022, the Jönköping club has recruited a total of 54 players, according to eliteprospects. But the new ones have rarely become long-term and only two players - defender Hugo Fransson and veteran forward Mattias Tedenby - are left from the autumn of 2022.
For two years in a row, HV71 has been forced to qualify - and the 2017 championship club has not been in the playoffs since its return.
Stockholm on the map again - to stay?
Djurgården is back after three years in HockeyAllsvenskan and the capital is on the hockey map again. But will it be a temporary visit to SHL?
Sports manager Niklas Wikegård has focused on North America when he has picked up new acquisitions - including the merited national team goalkeeper Magnus Hellberg, 34, who is turning home after his second North American tour, just over three years long.
A recruitment that will give Djurgården stable stability. Five new defenders have been picked up, including the experienced Philip Holm, and six new forwards, including the comeback Jacob Josefson.
Göran Sundberg/TT
Facts: SHL's premiere round
TT
Saturday, September 13:
15.15: Frölunda-Linköping, Djurgården-Skellefteå, Brynäs-Växjö
18.00: Färjestad-Rögle, Luleå-Malmö, HV71-Örebro, Leksand-Timrå
