It was at a meeting in Zug, Switzerland, earlier today that several changes were hammered out.
The biggest?
The number of teams in the Champions Hockey League is reduced, from 32 to 24. This means that there are only three (four if a Swedish team wins as the reigning champions are automatically qualified) places reserved for Swedish teams next season.
In addition, the different groups are scrapped in favor of a 24-team group where the teams are seeded in four different pots.
The six highest seeded teams are then drawn against two teams from each of the three remaining pots.
In other words, there will be a total of six group stage matches for the teams as all double meetings are scrapped in favor of variety.
The top 16 teams qualify for the playoffs.