| 1996–97 Elitserien season | |
| League: | Elitserien |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Duration: | 17 September 1996 – 9 March 1997 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champ Name: | League Champion |
| Season Champs: | Leksands IF |
| Mvp: | Jörgen Jönsson (Färjestad BK) |
| Mvp Link: | Guldpucken |
| Top Scorer: | Juha Riihijärvi (Malmö IF) |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Playoffs Link: |
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| Finals Champ: | Färjestad BK |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Luleå HF |
| Nextseason Year: | 1997–98 |
| Prevseason Year: | 1995–96 |
| Seasonslistnames: | SHL |
The 1996–97 Elitserien season was the 22nd season of the Elitserien, the top level of ice hockey in Sweden. 12 teams participated in the league, and Färjestads BK won the championship.
| Club | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 50 | 28 | 7 | 15 | 166 | 132 | 63 | ||
| 2. | 50 | 26 | 8 | 16 | 150 | 121 | 60 | ||
| 3. | 50 | 26 | 8 | 16 | 148 | 132 | 60 | ||
| 4. | 50 | 27 | 5 | 18 | 186 | 135 | 59 | ||
| 5. | 50 | 23 | 10 | 17 | 149 | 131 | 56 | ||
| 6. | 50 | 22 | 9 | 19 | 178 | 159 | 53 | ||
| 7. | 50 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 134 | 133 | 51 | ||
| 8 | 50 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 171 | 154 | 50 | ||
| 9. | 50 | 21 | 8 | 21 | 155 | 144 | 50 | ||
| 10. | 50 | 17 | 6 | 27 | 136 | 167 | 40 | ||
| 11. | 50 | 15 | 7 | 28 | 122 | 179 | 37 | ||
| 12. | 50 | 5 | 11 | 34 | 133 | 241 | 21 |