The ZSC Lions from Zurich, Switzerland will host Färjestad BK from Karlstad, Sweden in the 10th final of the modern incarnation of the Champions Hockey League on Tuesday. The game will be played before a sellout crowd of around 12,000 at Swiss Life Arena, which opened in 2022 and is scheduled to be the primary venue of the 2026 IIHF World Championship.
The opening faceoff is scheduled for 20:15 CET (2:15 pm ET, 11:15 am PT).
Television & Streaming
Switzerland: MySports Eins, MySports Un, Mysports 2, SRF2, RTS2, RSI La2
Sweden: Viaplay & TV10
Finland, Denmark, Norway: Viaplay
Czechia, Slovakia: Sport2
Hungary: Sport2 (delayed)
Germany: Sportdeutschland.tv, Magenta
Austria: ORF Sport Plus
Poland: Polsat Sport 3
Israel: Sport2
Taiwan: Elta
Canada: TSN5, TSN+
USA: NHL Network
Various others: Everyplay.live, Arenasport, YouTube (subject to geoblocking)
Rosters (NHL rights in parentheses, where applicable)
ZSC Lions Zurich
Goaltenders: Šimon Hrubec, Robin Zumbühl
Defensemen: Yannick Blaser, Patrick Geering “C”, Santtu Kinnonen, Dean Kukan, Mikko Lehtonen, Christian Marti, Jan Schwendeler, Dario Trutmann, Yannick Weber
Forwards: Sven Andrighetto, Nicolas Baechler, Rūdolfs Balcers, Chris Baltisberger, Jesper Frödén, Derek Grant, Joel Henry, Juho Lammikko, Denis Malgin, Willy Riedi, Vinzenz Rohrer (Montreal Canadiens), Justin Sigrist, Yannick Zehnder
Head Coach: Marco Bayer
Roster Notes: Marc Crawford was the team’s head coach through the quarterfinals before he resigned in late December due to health reasons. Veteran forward Denis Hollenstein is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery for a lower-body injury.
Färjestad Karlstad
Goaltenders: Maxime Lagacé, Anders Lindbäck
Defensemen: Axel Bergkvist, Noel Fransén, (Carolina Hurricanes), Jérémy Groleau, Magnus Nygren, Joel Nyström (Carolina), Adam Ollas Mattsson, Quinn Schmiemann, Stian Solberg (Anaheim Ducks), August Tornberg
Forwards: Emil Alba, Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers), Henrik Björklund, Oliver Eklind, Lucas Forsell, (Vancouver Canucks), Linus Johansson “C”, Willie Johansson, Joel Kellman, Michael Lindqvist, Viktor Lodin, Joakim Nygård “A”, Oskar Steen, Marián Studenič, David Tomášek, Marcus Westfält, Per Åslund
Head Coach: Tomas Mitell
Roster Notes: Veteran former NHL goaltender Anders Lindbäck was signed less than two weeks ago to back up Maxime Lagacé. Previously, the backup was 20-year-old Italian goalie Damian Clara, an Anaheim prospect. Clara transferred to Kärpät Oulu in Finland on Saturday.
Statistics
Former NHLer Sven Andrighetto of Zurich enters the final as the season leader or co-leader in goals (8), assists (12) and points (20). Färjestad’s Oskar Steen, formerly of the Boston Bruins, also has 12 assists and is second in points with 18, while Zurich’s Denis Malgin is third in points with 17.
Andrighetto, Steen and Färjestad goalie Maxime Lagacé are among the five finalists for the CHL MVP award – the others are Michal Špáček of Sparta Prague and Genève-Servette goaltender Antti Raanta. Zurich goaltender Šimon Hrubec won the CHL award in 2017-18 when he played for Czech club Oceláři Třinec.
Road to the final
These were the top two teams in the regular season.
Färjestad took 17 of 18 possible points and won all six games – five in regulation time and once in overtime. In the knockout stages, Färjestad edged 2022-23 CHL champion Tappara, Red Bull Salzburg from Austria and Sparta Prague from Czechia.
Zurich finished with 14 points with four regulation wins, an OT win and an OT loss. The Lions beat a pair of German clubs – the Straubing Tigers and Eisbären Berlin – before knocking off National League rival and defending CHL champion Genève-Servette in the semifinals.
Historical context
This is the second straight year that a Swiss team has hosted a Swedish team in the final – last year, Genève-Servette beat Skellefteå AIK 3-2. That was the first time in the modern incarnation of the CHL that a Swiss team had appeared in the final, whereas this year is the 10th straight year that at least one of the finalists has been from Sweden. However, as I pointed out in this final preview for Eurohockeyclubs.com and this previous article for THN, the pendulum is swinging in favor of a few of the top Swiss teams, on account of their deep pockets and ability to sign the best talent that doesn’t make the NHL.
Zurich won the only final in the first version of the Champions Hockey League, which lasted only the 2008-09 season. It was a two-game affair with KHL club Metallurg Magnitogorsk, with each team hosting one game. After a 2-2 tie in Magnitogorsk, Zurich surprisingly won 5-0 to become the first Swiss team to be crowned European club champion.
Previous European Club Championship finals
Champions Hockey League
2023-24: Genève-Servette (SUI) 3 – Skellefteå AIK (SWE) 2
2022-23: Tappara Tampere (FIN) 3 – Luleå HF (SWE) 2
2021-22: Rögle Ängelholm (SWE) 2 – Tappara Tampere (FIN) 1
2020-21: Season cancelled
2019-20: Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE) 3 – Mountfield Hradec Králové (CZE) 1
2018-19: Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE) 3 – Red Bull Munich (GER) 1
2017-18: JYP Jyväskylä (FIN) 2 – Växjö Lakers (SWE) 0
2016-17: Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE) 4 – Sparta Prague (CZE) 3 [OT]
2015-16: Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE) 2 – Kärpät Oulu (FIN) 1
2014-15: Luleå HF (SWE) 4 – Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE) 2
2008-09: ZSC Lions Zurich 7 (SUI) – Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RUS) 2 (two-game aggregate score)
European Champions Cup
2007-08: Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RUS) 5 – Sparta Prague (CZE) 2
2006-07: Ak Bars Kazan (RUS) 6 – HPK Hämeenlinna (FIN) 0
2005-06: Dynamo Moscow (RUS) 5 – Kärpät Oulu (FIN) 4 [SO]
2004-05: Avangard Omsk (RUS) 2 – Kärpät Oulu (FIN) 1 [OT]
European Hockey League
1999-2000: Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RUS) 2 – Sparta Prague (CZE) 0
1998-99: Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RUS) 2 – Dynamo Moscow (RUS) 1 [OT]
1997-98: VEU Feldkirch (AUT) 5 – Dynamo Moscow (RUS) 3
1996-97: TPS Turku (FIN) 5 – Dynamo Moscow (RUS) 2