The 2023–24 Naisten Liiga season was the forty-first season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's ice hockey in Finland, since the league's establishment as the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982. The regular season began on 9 September 2023 and concluded on 18 February 2024. The playoffs began on 23 February 2024 and the Aurora Borealis Cup was awarded to IFK Helsinki (HIFK) on 21 March 2024.
Entering the season, HIFK were the reigning champions of both the 2022–23 regular season and the 2023 Aurora Borealis Cup.
Lukko unexpectedly withdrew from the Naisten Liiga and the team was dissolved in April 2023, just weeks after they’d successfully defended their place in the league in the 2023 Naisten Liiga qualification. Rauman Lukko ry, the team's operating association, cited difficulties in recruiting and retaining players as the principal reasons behind the decision.[1]
Lukko players were not consulted prior to the announcement. Captain Maija Koski was shocked by the news and felt that the team could have been saved if avenues of communication had been opened between the association and Lukko players.[2]
Lukko's departure from the Naisten Liiga decreased the number of teams in the league from ten to nine for the 2023–24 season. The standard 36-game season was reduced to 32 games per team to account for the four game that would have been played against Lukko.
Five Lukko players – forwards Carolina Grönroos, Maija Koski, and Amanda Julkunen, and defensemen Hanna Brofelt and Mette Karru – transferred to TPS in Turku, about 90 km (56 mi) southeast of Rauma. Centre Aliisa Toivonen, Lukko's leading scorer in the 2022–23 season, signed with Kiekko-Espoo.
Note: This section does not record all player signings. It is limited to player movements involving national team players (from any country), international import players, and extra-league signings. Player nationality is limited to the primary nation of IIHF eligibility; some players may hold citizenship in more than one country.
The preseason began on 10 August 2023 and comprised exhibition games played between Naisten Liiga teams or between a Naisten Liiga team and a boys' junior team from the youth department of the same club or a local club. No exhibition matches were scheduled for Kärpät or RoKi.[22]
The regular season began on Saturday, 9 September 2023. All eight games of the opening weekend were played at Matinkylän jäähalli [fi] in Espoo; Team Kuortane was the only team that did not participate in any opening weekend games.[23]
Note: Italics indicate player departed the Naisten Liiga in the midst of the 2023–24 season. See player movements for details.
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of regular season on 18 February 2024.[28]
The following skaters were the top point scorers of teams not represented in the scoring leader table at the conclusion of the season on 18 February 2024, noted with their overall league scoring rank:
The following goaltenders played at least one-third of their team's minutes in net at the conclusion of the regular season on 18 February 2024, sorted by save percentage.[29]
The following goaltenders had played a minimum of one game but fewer than one-third of their team's minutes in net at the conclusion of games played 18 February 2024, sorted by save percentage.[30]
Note: This section records all in-season player transactions. Player nationality indicates primary nation of IIHF eligibility; some players may hold multiple citizenship.
Sources: [39][40][41][42]
All-Star teams were selected by Naisten Liiga coaches at the conclusion of the regular season.[43][44]