Kvalserien
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| Ceased | 2014 |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Country | Sweden |
| Promotion to | SHL |
| Relegation to | HockeyAllsvenskan |
Kvalserien, also known as Kvalserien till SHL, was the Swedish round-robin ice hockey tournament to qualify for play in the next season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL, previously named Elitserien), Sweden's top-level ice hockey league for men. It will be replaced by a playoff round in the 2014–15 season.
Kvalserien was formed after the regular seasons of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL, previously named Elitserien) and the second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan had been played. The two worst ranked teams in the SHL and the best four teams in HockeyAllsvenskan formed the league together with the winner of a six-round round-robin tournament between the teams ranked 4–7 from HockeyAllsvenskan. The six Kvalserien teams played each other twice, once at home ice and once on the road, giving 10 games per team and a total of 30 games. The two teams finishing first and second were promoted to the SHL the next season, while the remaining four teams played in HockeyAllsvenskan the next season.
IF Björklöven and Timrå IK returned to Elitserien after respectively one and eighteen seasons in lesser divisions. VIK Västerås HK and Linköpings HC were relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.
Linköpings HC and Södertälje SK returned to Elitserien after one and three seasons, respectively, in lesser divisions. Leksands IF and IF Björklöven were relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.
Timrå IK re-qualified for Elitserien and Leksands IF returned to Elitserien after one year in lesser divisions. AIK were relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.
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