All four teams in Group E have been in the CHL before, with varying degrees of success. Oceláři Třinec went to the Semi-Finals last year, while Tappara (three times), Djurgården and Storhamar both as far as the Round of 16. Tappara are the most experienced of the group, having competed in each CHL season, while Djurgården and Třinec have both missed once.
Djurgården Stockholm
- Qualified as: SHL regular season runners-up
- Fourth appearance; Round of 16 in 2015/16
- Club information
Djurgården was once Europe's premier hockey club, winning back to back European Cups in 1991 and 1992. After getting relegated from Sweden's top league and spending a couple of seasons in the Allsvenskan earlier this decade, their second-place regular-season finish and trip to the SHL semi-finals indicate that they plan on returning to the top. Their roster will be a bit different this season, losing Marcus Högström and Jonathan Davidsson to the NHL, but the additions of veteran forwards Dick Axelsson and Jacob Josefsson indicate they should still be a force to reckon with. While they historically have lots of experience against Finnish, Czech and Norwegian clubs, mostly positive, the only one of the three opponents they've faced before in the CHL is Tappara, with whom they split two games in the 2015/16 group stage.
Tappara Tampere
- Qualified as: Liiga finalists
- Fifth appearance; Round of 16 in 2014/15, 2015/16, 2017/18
- Club information
In recent years, Tappara have established themselves as a Finnish powerhouse, making the Liiga finals six straight seasons and winning two titles. That has only translated into modest success in Europe, however, as the team continually hits a wall in the CHL Round of 16, losing there on three occasions. This time around, they find themselves in a tough group with no guarantee of advancing. They have previously faced both Djurgarden and Třinec in the CHL, but both meetings came in the first two seasons. The biggest change surrounding the team is in goal, with questions whether the young Christian Heljanko and veteran Niklas Bäckström can replace the departed Dominik Hrachovina.
Oceláři Třinec
- Qualified as: Extraliga finalists
- Fourth appearance; Semi-Finals in 2017/18
- Club information
Last season was a big one in Třinec, with the local team making the CHL Semi-Finals and the Czech Extraliga finals thanks to a big season from goaltender Šimon Hrubec. This season, the "Steelers" look to add a little more firepower to their roster with the additions of Slovak centre Marek Viedenský and Latvian winger Roberts Bukarts. Třinec split two games with Tappara back in the initial 2014/15 CHL season, and in last season's big run had a remarkable 5-1 record against Swedish teams and split their Semi-Final tie with Finnish club JYP, eventually falling in a shootout. They were especially tough to beat on home ice, where they had strong fan support. This year, all three of their Group E opponents are from the Nordic countries.
Storhamar Hamar
- Qualified as: Ligaen champions
- Second appearance; Round of 16 in 2015/16
- Club information
Storhamar played in the CHL once before and made a huge impression in 2015/16, topping their group and reaching the Round of 16 before large, enthusiastic crowds. Now, after ending Stavanger's five-year reign as Norwegian champions, they're back. Despite having a few returning names from three years ago, they'll be in really tough to finish ahead of two other teams in this group to advance that far again. Nonetheless, they gave themselves a boost by signing long-time KHLer and Norwegian hockey legend Patrick Thoresen. Many names on Storhamar's roster might be familiar to Djurgarden fans, particularly Jens Jakobs – who played 30 games for them back in 2013/14 and spent the last two seasons with crosstown rival AIK Stockholm – and Finn Niklas Fogström, who has spent most of his adult career in Sweden and the last six seasons in the SHL. Fogström is a CHL champion with Lulea in 2014/15.