My candid thoughts on NHL 27
Well,weve all had over a month to digest NHL 27 and all of its new features and heres what I have to say....... The New presentation package is ONLY alright but admittedly an improvement nonetheless VERY LITTLE improvement in Creation Modes which is VERY disappointing The game has actually taken a step back in gameplay Its harder to score! The game is like a pinball machine where you cant get any natural flow going. Everytime you turn around theres another of your opponents hitting you and it doesnt take much to knock you down! The defenders always seem to close the gap no matter how faster your player is then them, which is unreal! It used to be the odd man rushes like 2 players against the goalie would ALWAYS result in a goal BUT NOW it very rarely results in a goal.Successful SLAPSHOTS are almost totally gone! The backhand sometimes seems to be the only goal that is successful! I have many fast and quick players and NO matter what they cant seem to evade their defender. My opponent(CPU teams) always seem to complete their passes while my team constantly has incomplete passes which is unrealistic. My team will be lucky to have a 80% passing completion rate while my CPU opponent team routinely has in the 90% completion rate which is also NOT realistic either. In past titles like 20-21-22 and so on my players would be as good as their ratings showed but now,even players with a 90 rating struggle to score. I would so like to talk to the development team about many ideas I have and I have talked about some of those ideas before but its only talk! I want to see my ideas which would greatly improve the realism of this game!NHL 26 Custom Team Crash
So, for the last few years, I’ve only been buying these games for 1 reason and that’s to make and play games using my custom teams made in the creation zone. I’m not using any created players, or Franchise Mode or a Custom League or anything like that, just the creation zone and play now, as well as playoff mode. My issue is, I have 50 created teams and when I go to save the 51st, the game completely crashes and restarts. I’ve heard that EA said there was a limit of 80 teams so I’m incredibly confused. Is it just me? Is there a way to fix it? I’m on Xbox Series X and I had the same problem with the last NHL game I bought (NHL 23) except it stopped at 48 teams rather than 50.Still on NHL26…
Is there a way to edit rosters/player movement/the draft once you start a new franchise? I downloaded a recent custom roster, but guys like McKenna/Stenberg/Bjork are still in junior/international, and it says they are too young to be added to an NHL/AHL team in the roster customization.Chel Lobbies
Dear EA , it has been Years with constant bugs in Chel lobbies. And apparently each years just adds new bugs. me and friends play 6s almost every day for years and we have gotten so used to lobbies being broken -“invite failed” when inviting friends lobby glitching out during search and not finding anything, then we have to reset it with private game search or leave the lobby and come back. as of late we get constant issues with error “lost connection to Ea servers” right before game starts. If opponent Goalie leaves the game and we go back to lobby its high chance that we would need to reset lobby becouse its not finding oponent during peak hours, once we reset it then opponent appears almost instantly. but year by year- month by month it really gets tiresome that theese things arent adressed. those who play 6s know about theese issues and it not fun to organise 6people and play lobby simulator for better part of the evening just trying to get it to work.Idea
Hey, my just rlly desperate atp. I don't know why it's so appealing to me but for the past 3 NHL's I've been trying to get mascots to fight not knowing it's not a feature and it's not possible. I wanted to suggest they add it as a feature to NHL 26 and 27. It gives more appeal to younger fans, and it's a fun tweak that I think people will really like. It's a little silly but it sounds cool to me for some reason. And it would benefit the younger fanbase a lot. It's a goofy request but I've been trying for so long. Another thing is editing mascots. You should be able to edit mascots in threes circuit like you can edit players in franchise mode. Just a couple suggestions for threes. Thank yaCPU Strategies and Poor Logic
I’m going to throw this in here since I’m still playing ‘26. I’ve noticed a lot of good discussion regarding cpu teammates being too aggressive offensively on the pk while being too passive on the pp. Essentially, the strategy is reversed. Well, I’d like to add that this applies to the strategy late in games as well, even five on five. We’ll be up by a couple and my forward linemates are super aggressive. That’s not the bad part because I’ll play as F3 and make sure I stay back. What is frustrating is when we’re down by a goal or two and I’m the only guy forechecking. I’ll separate the man from the puck but I don’t have a teammate anywhere around to pick it up and help. They invariably pull back to the blue line and watch. That’s honestly one of the most frustrating aspects and I have a feeling that ‘27 hasn’t addressed this. In addition, when the goalie is pulled, your defense will back in and back in and let the opponent get within ten feet of the net for an empty netter. Stuff like this is why I’m on blood pressure meds. Lol. Yes, I’m old.
In BAP form scores are useless.
So I have found the it doesn't matter what your playstyle is for your player the only way to keep your form score up is to score goals and win. I play games where I'm graded a B+ because I didn't score. Form score drops. And why does simulating destroy your form score? Doesn't matter your overall. You don't play your games, your form score is toast. The no sim penalty setting doesn't work for crap either.
Wishlist from an offline-only hardcore player
Disclaimer: I only play Franchise Mode, Play Now and Be A Pro (a bit) so if things are missing, go ahead and make your own wishlist New Options Mascots on/off X X-Factor on/off X Pressure System on/off X Pressure System board graphics on/off X New Features (General, Franchise Mode & Be A Pro) Make skaters glide more both in user controlled and cpu controlled state. They stop like the ground surface is gravel CONFIRMED Make superstar cpu defenders react harder on opposition forwards cutting into the slot. (Quick flick right stick right to left or vice versa). Right now it's very overpowered to skate fast along the boards and then deke/cut in to the slot to expose defenders and goalie. It result in a goal about 50% of the times, even with goalie sliders set to 100/100 X In older games some players like Patrick Kane was really fun and reactive to manual deke with. Today it's much less creative and more bound to sequenced animations (click button > deke animation plays). It was really fun in Shootout Mode online. People created youtube videos and shared their deking skill with others much more. A good balance between now vs then (nhl 12-14) X Goalies should stop more simple dekes like backhand forehand dekes at a higher rate X THIS IS STILL NOT FIXED CONFIRMED THROUGH TRAILER/ARTICLE New custom jerseys and logotypes in create a team X You removed the ability to edit created team during post season in Franchise Mode? Why? BRING IT BACK Updated standard goalie masks (all modes where you can edit players) X Increased length of handshake line after completed playoffs series, right now it's about 3-5 seconds long X More replays showing close-up player reactions to near goals, shot blocks leading to pain, etc X Store Stanley Cup winner team picture to watch later through the menus (if the user won) X Tunnel walkout cutscene during playoffs in Franchise Mode CONFIRMED Let users customize hairstyle and eyebrows in Franchise Mode X Present starting goalies in game intro CONFIRMED Present and compare the two team's top players in game intro (can be based on career stat if veteran players or current season stat for others, milestones, etc), like in a real broadcast X NOT ADDED CONFIRMED THROUGH TRAILER/ARTICLE Three stars of the game cutscene after a game X Show team walk out from tunnel and crowd reactions during game intros CONFIRMED Updated crowd models and animations (also fix the crowd clapping with freezed towels in playoffs). CONFIRMED The outdoor settings/rinks are incredible in pro-am/woc, make use of them in franchise and be a pro (some event or something) X Team practice in Franchise Mode and Be A Pro (maybe outdoor practice during post-season?) X Outdoor Stadium games X Stop showing promo popups in main menu, it is very frustrating and makes most of us wanting to stay away from online modes even more X Remove female refs in men's leagues X Add more grit to how players interact with each other (yelling at ref or opposition, talking trash, etc) NOT REALLY A THING, EA ADDED SOME YAPPING PLAYER MOUTH ANIMATION IN PENALTY CUTSCENES UI panel showing last game three stars and game result in Franchise mode and BAP (right now you have to navigate a lot to see that - box score) X Generate 3D headshots for all auto generated players in Franchise Mode (add option to enable/disable when starting a franchise). It's ok if this takes a long time generating each season, but if it slow down menus, then maybe not worth it X PC release would be great X More context after goal scored. Next whistle talk about or show graphic for the goal scorer and cut to player in camera. Context could for example be: "1st goal after 5 games cold scoring streak", "1st point after returning from injury", etc X More random timing for when cpu coach pulls the goalie. Right now cpu opposition coach pull goalie with around 00:50 left in the period. Also only if they are losing with min 1 goal or max 2 goals SEMI-CONFIRMED OPPOSITION COACH NOW CALL TIMEOUTS BUT HAS NOT YET CONFIRMED PULL GOALIE TIMINGS In goal replays, remove the slowmotion to real-time in the middle of the replay. It doesn't look that good, we do not need fancy hollywood effects and a giant blue marker highlighting the puck, we see it anyway. Same with X-factor replays, but at least we can turn those off. X EDIT (ADDED JULY 18TH 2026): Added green labels to improvements that seems to be in NHL 27 EDIT (ADDED SEPTEMBER 9TH 2026): Added green labels to improvements that seems to be in NHL 27 and corrected things confirmed not being in the game after I played the trial. Added X to items confirmed not being in NHL 27 Fixes Fix poor positioning of cpu teammates blocking slap shots from the blue line NOT CONFIRMED Fix slow update of header player information (large headshot with name and other info) when hovering players in lineups, player lists, etc in Franchise Mode X Fix lag occurring with 1 minute left in each period X Still can feel it but it's less lag now Fix show mascot on/off in create a team (it's always on in-game, even if saved "off" in create a team for expansion draft in Franchise Mode) NOT CONFIRMED Fix mascot drumming cutting off arena music during faceoffs CONFIRMED Improve coaches body models and fix clipping of glasses (for example Dan Muse) CONFIRMED Tune hitting to be more realistic. If players are prepared for a hit, then don't make them go down this easily as now. Same with players getting hit into the bench, happens too much now. X System & Experience System: Xbox Series X Experience: Owned every NHL game since NHL 2000 I play with sliders set to punish my own players and be in favor of the cpu players. Standard Superstar AI is no match. Which I hope future games will change I also want to say that I enjoy the presentation added in NHL 26, but patches this release has been underwhelming
Bring NHL to PC already!
How is it possible that EA has FC, Madden and basically every other major sports franchise on PC, but NHL is still missing? PC players have been asking for NHL for years. We already have cross-play, modern anti-cheat technology exists, and PCs today are more than capable of running the game. I don't want to buy an Xbox or PlayStation just to play one EA Sports game. I want to buy NHL on PC, play it natively, and use my own hardware. Please stop giving PC players the same excuse every year and actually bring NHL to PC. There is clearly demand for it. We want NHL on PC.Hitting
So is the delay of the Be A Pro player character to hit going to get changed in 2027? I feel like when I try to hit( even when I am in top of a NPC) it’s deliberately delayed so I miss. Yet I can speed by a defensman and somehow they still are able to get just a piece still hit and/or destroy the Be A Pro player for a big hit. So unfair as it has happened for many years. Maybe not the big hits but always not being able to just use speed like regular NHL Players.Player changes.
Fix line changes where players stay tired on the ice. It’s like you’re hacking to keep my players tired on the ice when they should be able to get on the bench by hopping over the boards when I say it’s time to change. Why can I click to the next line and players don’t do anything about it. I shouldn’t need to press the button twice for it to say I’m going from line 1 to 2– And then nobody changes unless I press it 6 times!! And sometimes, the game will be like nah that was 5 so you end up on the same line trying to press it another 6 times for the game to say nah that was 7 now. I shouldn’t have to look to make sure it’s right because it’s not consistent. I’m probably being hacked by the ea content team that’s trying to look like they’re better at the game than they really are.
This game is so awful now it’s a disgrace even NHL on it
In the last two or three weeks, this game must be increasingly becoming the worst hockey game I’ve ever played. Right now all you play is lagging people, glitching, and exploit professionals. Once again, and four games today up by multiple goals in the third period, only to have a lag come in and suddenly my guys become mud play players, and the other team skates around the circle of scores multiple goals in less than three minutes….. And don’t get me started on the Quebec players. Same thing playing a game up to one four minutes to go, open that my guy the entire system, legs and freezes and as a spike or something, they take the puck up score 3 goals and less than four minutes…. Of course, EA will blame the signal, the Internet, the gravitational pool of the moon on the Earth today. But they do not take any actions against absolute cheats, cause this is rampant with cheaters and laggers and explorers. you catered to the people that buy packs only to keep these people happy and that’s the problem…..this game has become patheticDepth in BAP
This has been mentioned, but my current situation in BAP begs repeating it. We need information regarding the status of what prospects are in the pipeline and other key elements. I don’t expect to have any control as a player, but it’s nice to know when considering whether or not I want to stay with a team or sign with a new team. Irl, players, especially higher end ones, absolutely have an idea of what they’re walking into either way. I’m in the eighth season (I think) on the Blackhawks and we’ve had tremendous success since my second season with the team. This past offseason, we lost both Bedard and Debrincat to free agency so I’m on the first line with two middle six guys. Okay. It’s an opportunity to carry right now but playoffs might be an issue. Lol. Our defensive core is still pretty solid and we have a good ‘tender so I’m looking at this as a retooling. But what are we doing? Will we make moves at the deadline? I doubt we have any high end prospects given our lack of high draft picks. But what do I do? Do I resign at the end of the year or do I test free agency? I hate the thought of leaving my beloved Hawks but I’d like to know what the plan is.I have no words
I have asked before why the Be A Pro ( and actually spell it out as BAP doesn’t seem to be understood) stick does not do anything it is supposed to. I can’t actually control a poke check as my stick always go to the puck. Even when I do the hold and redirect it. Nowadays that slows me down and even if I block a pass the puck still makes it. I guess I am saying why doesn’t the stick of a Be A Pro actually be more effective than a NPC?Playing for over 26 years? Probably more!
Okay I actually have a floppy disk that I bought because a nephew said it was good. So I bought it. It sucked compared to other games I played. I played or bought more games since then some not even sports games. What I don’t understand is why you don’t listen to the people who play your games!Energy?
Okay I have been paying attention to my health bar. In 2 day it barely goes up a single bar! Are you telling me I now have to spend energy point because a NHL player doesn’t recover in 2 days? That is total **bleep**. I can see back to back games. Can we go back to just division of our own experience depending on how many games we play?
NHL 26 offline play
This game is still unplayable in offline mode! CPU AI is completely overtuned, on breakaways i cant even follow the AI controlled forwards! The puck is like a magnet 🧲 on the CPU sticks, once i poke it away in the next second its back on their sticks, hitting on CPU forwards has no effect, even the puck stays on their stick after a big hit?!?! When CPU is on full pressure, you can count down the seconds, when they score?! Every rebound from my goalie land on CPU forwards stick and they score in 9 of 10 cases! In a few words, this game is totally scripted unfair unlogic garbage and has nothing to do with a hockey simulation, go home EA and reset your brains at Saudi Arabia, 2k, please bring back the NHL series, 2k10 is still much more funny than any EA hockey games!!!!
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