IF Malmö Redhawks

The Malmö Redhawks is an ice hockey club from Malmö, Sweden. The team is currently playing in the second highest league in Sweden, HockeyAllsvenskan. Malmö has played 16 seasons in the top Swedish league Elitserien (1990–91 to 2004–05 and 2006–07).

History
The team was founded on 28 February 1972 when the ice hockey section of the Swedish sports club Malmö FF became a separate club. The Malmö Redhawks played in the Elitserien from 1990–91 to 2004–05. They were the Swedish champions in 1992 and 1994 and European champions in 1992.

The Redhawks, previously know as "MIF" became famous in Sweden when they started buying very talented players to an anonymous team in the late eighties. They signed players such as Peter "Pekka" Lindmark, one of the greatest goaltenders all-time, Daniel Rydmark and Raimo Helminen and basically brought money into the sport in Sweden.

Decline by 2005
At the end of the 2004–05 season, the Redhawks played in the qualification series to stay in Elitserien, lost and were relegated. Thus, as of the 2005–06 season, they played in the HockeyAllsvenskan, the second division hockey league in Sweden; at the end of the season, the top 4 teams played the qualification series with the bottom two teams of Elitserien. Malmö won the qualification round and played in Elitserien during the 2006–07 season with limited success. Finishing the season as 12th (last) meant playing Kvalserien in order to avoid relegation for the second time in three years. On 1 April 2007, the Redhawks finished third in Kvalserien and was relegated to the Allsvenskan league.

Failed qualification efforts in 2007 and 2008
In 2007 Malmö Redhawks participated in a qualification series (Kvalserien) consisting of the top four teams of HockeyAllsvenskan and the bottom two teams from Elitserien. Malmö were considered favourites alongside the second team from Elitserien, Skellefteå AIK, but failed to re-qualify for Elitserien, falling two points behind Södertälje SK. In 2008 the team once again managed to reach Kvalserien, and had a golden opportunity to advance to Elitserien, leading the series during a majority of rounds. The Redhawks however lost in overtime of the final round while their arch rivals, Rögle BK, claimed the Elitserien spot with a margin of two points by scoring twice in the last minute of play.

New arena and financial issues in 2009
During the 2008–09 season, Malmö Redhawks moved to the new Malmö Arena, a top-modern sports and entertainment venue. The club originally aimed on being back in Elitserien before the premiere.

On 29 January 2009, while still playing in HockeyAllsvenskan, the team released all its contracted players due to financial debt and to avoid bankruptcy. The players were made free to find and sign with new clubs. By then the Redhawks were ranked 10th in the league with only one month of games remaining to play, instead of the top three or seven required for Kvalserien and possible Elitserien qualification.

Notable players
The team has had players like:
 * Peter Lindmark
 * Peter Andersson
 * Róbert Švehla (Slovakia)
 * Raimo Helminen (Finland)
 * Mats Näslund
 * Mats Hallin
 * Fedor Fedorov (Russia)
 * Andreas Lilja
 * Kim Johnsson
 * Juha Riihijärvi (Finland)
 * Daniel Rydmark
 * Jani Hurme (Finland)

All with experience from their respective national teams.