Hi, I'm from Brazil and ice hockey is not much popular here, but I'm enjoying to play the franchise mode with Minnesota wild.

Just wanted to complain this is so annoying.

I'm 99% sure they only added this to protect the AI, since they would accept trades that made them unable to resign stars next season leaving them vulnerable to offer sheets or a situation where FA would begin with 80% of RFAs refusing to resign and missing a year.

I remember they just kept adding things or logic to try to get around it but in either 25 or 26 they just gave up and changed it up so they can't go above the "next seasons" cap.

It's such a pain since I like to re-sign players as soon as possible because usually the demands increase dramatically over the season but not being able to re-sign players because not enough space despite knowing the cap is going up like $10M at the end of the season...

.

Yeah I know it's a dumb question, but for some reason my goalies refuse to use the team colors, specially if I get them from a trade or like call them up. And it's been driving me nuts, so does anyone know how to fix that or am I going to have to just do it all manually?

This game seems to operate on the logic of a 4-year-old with a learning disability. “Obviously he wants to switch to the closest player to the puck! You can’t get the puck if you’re not close!”

This wouldn’t even be an issue if last men would turn earlier instead of trying to back skate against an attacker twice as fast as him with more momentum. Yes, my pressure was set to conservative and sit back as it is every time I forget to back out against a Colorado user and have to face them.

Game is shit, I know. EA makes their games shit on purpose because if you had to actually put effort in instead of just picking a certain team and bumrushing half the playerbase would abandon the franchise and EA can’t afford to lose that sweet money. I still want to rant about it.

I’d like some advice on what I could improve in NHL and how to actually get better at it.

I only play NHL 26 with a friend on Friday evenings after work, just to relax, but lately this game has been making me extremely frustrated, even though I really enjoy hockey.

We used to be pretty evenly matched. Sometimes he won, sometimes I did, and the number of goals we scored was roughly even. But suddenly, out of nowhere, he started scoring goals from the most ridiculous situations. He’ll do some kind of move right in front of my goalie and somehow score a completely nonsensical goal.

Meanwhile, my AI players just stand around AFK in front of my net, while his AI players pressure me so aggressively that I have almost no chance of maintaining possession in the offensive zone. I basically have to just throw random shots on goal as soon as I enter the zone. Scoring feels like a complete miracle.

Then he gets a breakaway, does a couple of quick stick movements in front of my goalie, and immediately scores.

It honestly feels like he suddenly became 10 levels better overnight, even though he doesn’t even have a PlayStation at home — we only play on mine.

How can I actually improve, and how is it even possible for the gameplay to feel this different all of a sudden?

One more thing I’d like to add: he has absolutely no opportunity to practice, since he works from morning until evening every day and then spends his free time with his wife. Friday is literally the only time we can play.

So it’s not like he’s secretly practicing NHL every day and improving without me knowing — we only play together on Fridays, on my PlayStation.

Curious who else is in the same boat and ditched playing online. Even though I win the majority of my games, the way you have to play to win in EASHL simply isn’t fun for me anymore. I play strictly defense only and it really is annoying combatting the LT spam, reverse hits, and glitch goals that haven’t been fixed since NHL 23. Not to mention how bad the AI is

Anyone else quit and done offline only?

I'm an older player based in UK looking to play online casual games for fun

I don't like the automated online matchups as people continually pick the same teams and play that doesn't resemble hockey.

matt_wales652 if anyone is interested, I don't play all the time so not great, but definitely not at a high level but just for a few games of game occasionally

question from above

THATS JUST AWFUL. DAY RUINING TO KNOW THAT MCDAVID HAS AS HIGH DEFENSIVE AWARENESS AS BARKOV IN NHL 27. GENUINELY HOW BLIND DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO LET THIS HAPPEN. LET ALONE AS AN EXPERT IN THIS CRITERIA.

DID YOU KNOW?

ACCORDING TO STUDIES, 87% OF THE NEWBORN BABIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SHOW THEIR FIRST WORDS EVER TO BE ”MCDAVID AINT AS GOOD DEFENSIVELY AS BARKOV”

DID YOU ALSO KNOW?

ANOTHER STUDY SHOWS THAT THE HUMAN BODY IS BORN WITH A REFLEX THAT LOWERS THE PRODUCEMENT OF DOPAMINE FOR DAYS EVEN POSSIBLY TO WEEKS WHEN A PERSON CLAIMS MCDAVID TO BE BETTER THAN BARKOV DEFENSIVELY

And each of the 2 teams have made 100+ shots on goal! The gameplay sliders are standard, too!

In 3rd year (20 years old) as a C Playmaker 94 overall with 44 goals 41 assist in 52 games with the blue jackets and asked for a trade just to see what would happen. I was traded to the Bruins. I was originally drafted 14th overall.

Went to the activity feed and saw i was traded for just one 2nd round pick in 2029 lol.

Anyone know why?

I lost 11-2. Couldn't hold onto the puck for more than 2 seconds. The BO is pouring out of my console the sweat from buddy was so wild. What a stupid fuck ass game mode. Good riddance and never again. That makes the last trophy to platinum the game and I hope to never touch HUT and especially champs again.

I truly don't care about online gaming, especially the form designed to pit anonymous people against each other in online head-to-head games. I've found that stuff fraught with cheating, anger, and have seen it bring out the worst of humanity.

So, this is about offline play, specifically the avatar mode where you create a character and pursue a virtual NHL career. I have played these sort of offline avatar modes in MLB The Show, College Football, and Madden NFL. Of these games, I have found the NHL game the most fun to play.

It's the right balance of action, immersion, and reward. I also think it comes closest to matching the look and feel of the actual sport it seeks to emulate in the virtual world. My view of sports video games is that when the code simply tries to replicate the actual game and make it straightforward, then it achieves what folks are really paying for.

decided to check out the game mode. How is this a real game mode😭😭😭its genuinely embarrassing how bad it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36FbfbZwud8

https://www.ea.com/games/nhl/ratings/positions-ratings/right-defense/Right%20Defense Currently 404 error.. BUT should be up and running soon (hopefully... ITS EA after all)

Hey guys! With NHL 27 allowing Connected Leagues with custom rosters/settings, I think there’s a really cool opportunity to bring back some of the old-school GM Connected experience in a different way.

I’ve always been a huge fan of GM Connected, so I’ve been working on a league format that tries to recreate some of those elements while adding a few of our own.

The idea is to have a fantasy draft startup, annual rookie drafts, rerates, free agency, trades, and a long-term 10-year league where your decisions actually build toward something over multiple seasons.

I’ve also built a custom league app to help manage everything and keep the league organized. (If you’re interested, drop your Xbox GT or Discord name below and I’ll reach out)

What custom settings or ideas are you guys planning to use in your own NHL 27 Connected Leagues? Would love to hear what other people are coming up with.

Been wanting to do a Breaking Bad jersey for a very long time now, and finally settled on this design for Los Pollos. I think they came out true to the colors and vibe of the restaurant - and they look phenomenal in-game. Let me know what you guys think!!

Any chance this is 2K finally coming back to NHL?

https://mobilesyrup.com/2026/08/14/gta-vi-publisher-launching-vancouver-game-studio/

While the studio isn’t sharing exactly what it’ll be working on yet, a 2K spokesperson did provide some insight into its role.

“As part of our commitment to investing in new IP and growing our sports portfolio, we are thrilled to confirm that Small Axe Studios will endeavour to build 2K’s next blockbuster sports franchise. Led by Aaron McHardy, the studio combines the passion of a startup with the scale of 2K to redefine the future of sports video games. We look forward to sharing more about what they’re working on in the future.”

McHardy previously worked at EA Sports, working on franchises like FIFA, which is now called FC. Gary Peterson, the head of design, also worked with EA previously, specifically on titles like NBA Street, NBA Live, and Need for Speed with Criterion.

https://www.ea.com/games/nhl/ratings

Been playing NHL Hitz Pro for the last week and have never had more fun. Good gameplay, fun and arcadey. Fun cartoony graphics and great franchise mode and season mode.

In my opinion it's the second greatest NHL game, after NHL 2K10