| 2025–26 National League season | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | 9 September 2025 – 9 March 2026 |
| Games | 52 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Regular season | |
| Best record | HC Davos |
| Runners-up | HC Fribourg-Gottéron |
| Season MVP | Matěj Stránský (HC Davos) |
| Top scorer | Markus Granlund (Genève-Servette) |
| Swiss champion NL | |
| Champions | HC Fribourg-Gottéron |
| Runners-up | HC Davos |
The 2025–26 National League season is the 88th season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the ninth season as the National League (NL). The ZSC Lions are the defending champion.
Four teams from the NL qualified for 2025–26 Champions Hockey League (CHL), those teams being the ZSC Lions, Lausanne HC, SC Bern, and EV Zug.[1]
The teams did not change from the 2024–25 season as HC Ajoie won the relegation match against EHC Visp, the winner of the Swiss League (SL).[2]
Teams
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| HC Ajoie | Porrentruy | Raiffeisen Arena | 5,078 |
| HC Ambrì-Piotta | Ambrì | Gottardo Arena | 6,775 |
| SC Bern | Bern | PostFinance Arena | 17,031 |
| EHC Biel | Biel/Bienne | Tissot Arena | 6,562 |
| HC Davos | Davos | Eisstadion Davos | 6,547 |
| Fribourg-Gottéron | Fribourg | BCF Arena | 9,075 |
| Genève-Servette HC | Geneva | Patinoire des Vernets | 7,135 |
| EHC Kloten | Kloten | SWISS Arena | 7,624 |
| Lausanne HC | Lausanne | Vaudoise Aréna | 9,600 |
| HC Lugano | Lugano | Cornèr Arena | 7,800 |
| SCL Tigers | Langnau im Emmental | Ilfis Stadium | 6,000 |
| SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | Rapperswil | St. Galler Kantonalbank Arena | 6,100 |
| ZSC Lions | Zürich | Swiss Life Arena | 12,000 |
| EV Zug | Zug | Bossard Arena | 7,200 |
Standings
During the regular season, teams gain 3 points for a win in regulation time, 2 for a win in overtime, 1 for a loss in overtime, and none for a loss in regulation.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HC Davos | 52 | 34 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 191 | 120 | +71 | 117 | Advance to Playoffs, Regular season winners and 2026–27 Champions Hockey League qualification |
| 2 | HC Fribourg-Gottéron (C) | 52 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 172 | 126 | +46 | 100 | Advance to Playoffs and 2026–27 Champions Hockey League qualification[a] |
| 3 | Genève-Servette HC | 52 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 162 | 147 | +15 | 91 | |
| 4 | ZSC Lions | 52 | 25 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 147 | 115 | +32 | 91 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 5 | HC Lugano | 52 | 26 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 150 | 120 | +30 | 89 | |
| 6 | Lausanne HC | 52 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 155 | 137 | +18 | 85 | |
| 7 | SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | 52 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 150 | 154 | −4 | 81 | Advance to Play-in |
| 8 | EV Zug | 52 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 126 | 145 | −19 | 75 | |
| 9 | SC Bern | 52 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 23 | 118 | 128 | −10 | 68 | |
| 10 | EHC Biel | 52 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 23 | 143 | 165 | −22 | 67 | |
| 11 | SCL Tigers | 52 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 140 | 147 | −7 | 64 | |
| 12 | EHC Kloten | 52 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 117 | 143 | −26 | 63 | |
| 13 | HC Ambrì-Piotta | 52 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 129 | 178 | −49 | 59 | Advance to Playouts |
| 14 | HC Ajoie | 52 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 32 | 105 | 180 | −75 | 42 |
Rules for classification: 1) points per game 2) greater number of games played 3) greater number of away games played 4) head-to-head points
(C) Play-off Champions and Champions Hockey League
Notes:
- As HC Fribourg-Gottéron finished second and won the playoffs, Genève-Servette HC qualified as the highest-placed team not already qualified.
Postseason
At the end of the regular season, the six teams with the most points advance to the playoffs, the next four advance to the play-ins for a chance to qualify to the playoffs. The two teams with the least point go to the playouts. The loser of the series has to face the winner of the Swiss League (SL) and are relegated to the SL if they lose (the winning team being promoted).
Play-in stage
Each round of the play-ins is played in two matches, one at each team's home arena, using aggregate scoring (the winner is defined by the total score of the two matches). The games are only played on regulation time (no overtime). If the total score at the end of regulation of the second match is even, endless overtime is played. The first game is played at the home arena of the team with the lowest regular season ranking.
In the first round, the seventh seed faces the eighth and the ninth faces the 10th. The winner of the match between the seventh and eighth qualifies for the playoffs. The loser faces the winner of the match between ninth and 10th in the second round. The winner of the second round qualifies for the playoffs. Of the two teams qualified, the one with the better regular season ranking faces the second seed in the first round of playoffs. The other team faces the first seed.[3]
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Final Seeds | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | 2 | 2 | 4 | SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | No. 7 Seed | |||||||||||
| 8 | EV Zug | 5 | 1 | 6 | EV Zug | No. 8 Seed | |||||||||||
| 7 | SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||||||||
| 9 | SC Bern | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 9 | SC Bern | 3 | 4 | 7 | |||||||||||||
| 10 | EHC Biel | 4 | 0 | 4 | |||||||||||||
Playoffs
The playoffs are played in a single elimination bracket, each round being a best-of-seven. The seeding is decided based on the regular season ranking. The teams play every other game at their home arena, the team with the higher regular season ranking getting the advantage for the first game. Pairings are reseeded after the first round.
| Quarterfinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | ||||||||||||
| 1 | HC Davos | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | EV Zug | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | HC Davos | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | ZSC Lions | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | HC Fribourg-Gottéron | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | HC Davos | 3 | ||||||||||||
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | HC Fribourg-Gottéron | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Genève-Servette HC | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Lausanne HC | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | HC Fribourg-Gottéron | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Genève-Servette HC | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | ZSC Lions | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | HC Lugano | 0 | ||||||||||||
Playouts
The two teams in the NL with the least regular season points go to the Playouts. They play a seven-game series, the loser of which has to play against the winner of the Swiss League (SL). The loser of that series goes to the SL, and the winner to the NL.
With HC Sierre winning the 2025–26 Swiss League season, no relegation series was played as they did not apply for promotion.[4]
| Semifinal | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Cancelled | ||||||||
| 13 | HC Ambrì-Piotta | 4 | 14 | HC Ajoie | |||||
| 14 | HC Ajoie | 0 | |||||||
References
- "Teams". championshockeyleague.com. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- "Playouts 2024/25". nationalleague.com. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- "Tournament rulebook" (in French). Retrieved 3 December 2024.
- "HC Sierre wins Swiss League championship, League Qualification will not be played". swisshockeynews.ch. 2026-04-07. Retrieved 2026-04-14.