2010-11 Elitserien season

The 2010–11 Elitserien season is the 36th season of Elitserien, scheduled to run from September 15, 2010 to March 5, 2011. The following playoffs are projected to end in April 2011.

On December 26, 2010, a game will be held outdoors between Färjestads BK and Frölunda HC, continuing a tradition started in the previous season.

Kvalserien
Instead of a straight promotion and relegation system, Swedish ice hockey leagues use a format known as Kvalserien. The two teams with the worst records in the 2009–10 Elitserien season join four of the top-ranked clubs of the 2009–10 HockeyAllsvenskan season in a round-robin tournament. The two clubs with the best records are promoted to Elitserien for 2010–11, while the others are relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.

Södertälje SK and AIK play in the 2010–11 Elitserien season.

Regular season
Magnus Johansson of the Linköpings HC scored the first goal of the season.

Playoff bracket
In the first round, the highest remaining seed chooses which of the two lowest remaining seeds to be matched against. In the second round, the highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In each round the higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. Each best-of-seven series follows a 1–1–1–2–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team will play at home for games 2 and 4 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team will be at home for game 1, 3 and 6 (if necessary).

Rule changes
New rule changes include:
 * A team receiving a penalty shot must use the player fouled to perform the shot. Previously, the team could choose any player to take the shot.
 * A player on the ice must be within 1,5 metres of the bench before his replacement can step on the ice.
 * A player losing his helmet during play must leave the ice immediately.
 * When a team with a player already in the penalty box has a delayed penalty and the opposing team scores, the player already in the box will exit and the player with the delayed penalty will serve his penalty. Previously, the goal would negate the delayed penalty.
 * A goal scored with the shaft of the stick will stand, even if the stick blade is above the crossbar.
 * The number of leaders allowed in the luxury box has been increased from six to eight.
 * For the first time since the 2004–05 Elitserien season, the 2010–11 Elitserien season re-introduces shootout in regulation games. If a game is tied after the first 60 minutes, the game goes to a 5-minute overtime period. If the game is still not concluded after that, it goes to a shootout. If the game is still not concluded after each team has made three penalty shots each, the shootout goes into a sudden-death shootout, where the first team that scores and if the other team misses, the first team wins. The Timrå IK – Luleå HF game in round 3 was the first one to go into a shootout, which Timrå won.