After a disappointing start to their Liiga season and a big home loss in the CHL playoffs, TPS Turku have replaced head coach Kai Suikkanen with Miika Elomo.

Club News

TURKU – Following their 5–1 home-ice defeat in the first leg of their CHL eighth-final series with Lukko Rauma, TPS Turku have decided to relieve head coach Kai Suikkanen and assistant coach Riku-Petteri Lehtonen of their duties.

"This decision was really painful," club CEO Niklas Osterlund began in a statement on the team website. "TPS started this season with high expectations. Success, however, has not corresponded with expectations. TPS would like to thank the coaching duo for their dedication and the great amount of work they did leading the team."

TPS are currently 10th place out of 14 teams in the Finnish Liiga with 26 points in 18 games, and are right on the bubble as far as getting into the playoffs or not. Last season, the team finished 13th but, with off-season changes, expected to greatly improve their position this season.

Miika Elomo takes over the head coaching duties, with Marko Kiprusoff and Fredrik Norrena the new assistants. Their first game will be Tuesday in Rauma, where they face a four-goal deficit in the second leg against Lukko, and needing a win by at least that margin on the road if they want to advance further in the CHL.