I'm hyped for NHL 26!

Thanks for hearing your insight.  Could you tell us what exactly you want added to Franchise mode that would make it even better.  Go into details if possible also.  Thanks

Judging by the beta test, the gameplay felt roughly the same (but slightly better) than NHL 25, so I expect to enjoy this year, and I believe and hope I won't be the only one.

Something to keep in mind is that the playtest build will not be the same as the one the game launches with. We've already announced some changes in the recent gameplay blog that are coming.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

I'm really hoping for improvements to gameplay and crowd interaction. If I see one more year of the Home crowd jumping out of their seats to celebrate an away team goal I'm going to lose my mind. Hat tricks with rainbow color hats instead of the home/ away teams colors emblems is mind blowing. I truly appreciate the programming community and the effort they put into their work but maybe their supervisor could at least be a sporting fan and catch little details they are missing. Imagine a crowd that interacts with the game play banging on the glass when the hits in front of them chanting the goalies name/ nick name when an incredible save was made, chanting MVP for the home teams best player/ lead leader in goals/ point etc. Maybe a three star presentation where the player skates on the ice and salutes the crowd. I love that the programmers try to incorporate new things into the game every year and provide us with improved graphics etc but can they try to add more than one or two smaller details every year to satisfy the players desire to spend another 70 or more dollars a year? I've read the community boards and there are a lot of great ideas out there (I've posted several myself over the past two years) maybe place a member of the team in charge of reading these boards and noting the ideas the seem to generate the most interest/ response from the community. I'm not here to kick your/ their efforts in the back I (and I'm sure countless others) want to see you deliver the best product you can given the limited resources management decides to allot into making this particular sports game yearly. If there is anything I can do in order to take this year's/ next year's product to a higher level, please feel free to reach out. 

KlariskraysNHL​Tobbish​ 

List of some things I would love to see in franchise 

• Team practice mode with coaching, team drills, powerplay, and morning skates before game days
• Player interactions behind the scenes in Franchise (similar to Be a Pro) tied to morale and chemistry updates, with cutscenes showing practice or off-ice moments
• News headlines around the league for more immersion
• Aerial views of arenas before the game, with commentators in the booth breaking down keys to the game
• 3 stars of the night skating on to the ice 
• Banner raising and other special ceremonies for milestones 
• Cut scenes to commentators between the benches for added realism
• Ability to manually change players without scans to a chosen generic face that best resembles player along with editing head, physical and equipment sizes to better reflect what players actually look like. Bigger helmets smaller or bigger shins pads etc. 
• Ability to edit player stats and attributes within Franchise (since some players emerge while others regress)
• Ability to edit junior prospects’ attributes during the season so that the draft order better lines up with real-life projections
• Player interviews like in Madden, plus GM/coach updates when the team is on a hot streak or struggling
• In-season All-Star Game so your Franchise players have a chance to make the roster
• Longer and more interactive Stanley Cup celebration with media, fan interaction, and player interactions
• Trade Deadline Show with live ticker of trades happening around the league, plus commentary and reactions from fans/players
• Draft Day Presentation with stage walk-ups, handshakes, commentary, and highlights of top picks
• Free Agency Frenzy with a signing day atmosphere and live ticker of big names coming off the board
• Injuries & Returns highlighted by commentary or cutscenes when stars go down or come back
• Rivalry Games & Milestones called out by commentary, including approaching 500 goals, 1000 games, or breaking records
• Playoff Atmosphere upgrades like towel waves, whiteouts, louder crowds, and playoff-specific commentary intensity
• End-of-season Awards Show presentation for MVP, Norris, Calder, etc. instead of just a list
• Season Storylines tracked by commentary: hot streaks, cold streaks, breakout rookies, goalie battles

Wow! I don't know if I have anything to add. I wasn't going to add quite that much, but no denying most of it is in there. I'll try to think of some other things, however.

• After that aerial view of the arena before the game (mentioned by BigTimeTimJim​ ) I would like some of those hot streaks and cold streaks on each team. Not forced (if no one is on streak, no one is on a streak!), but if someone has an impressive streak or... less impressive slump, it would be cool to see. Included in that start of the game, I'd like injuries listed as well. A lot of information is available in the menu, but sometimes we don't want to stop and go through the menu before jumping in to the next game. It would be nice to get a quick pre-game overview of where the teams are at.
• I wish that the scouting was a bit smoother to work with. I don't know exactly how to improve this, but leaving the scouting in Auto usually leaves some top prospects unscouted and it can't really be trusted. Doing the job properly myself almost require me to create a document outside the game to keep track of what leagues I have good scouts for. I don't know if a similar thing to "Best lines" in Edit Lines (or auto fix like ticket prices and merch) could be a thing, where the scouts are at least put in one of the leagues where they are most efficient or something.
• I wish that the financial stuff would both matter more and be easier to understand. I don't think I've ever intentionally succeeded with such a goal for any of my teams. Somehow, I manage to reach them quite a lot, but I have absolutely no idea what I did (probably just been successful enough with the team's performance). I would want to know more, and if I see that things are not going well with the financial goal, I need to do something to fix it, not just win enough games.
• I would like to choose the direction of the team at the start of the season. Could be part of more media coverage and interviews mentioned in the post above. I might want to rebuild, even if that's not where the team is currently at. It could have an effect on players with clauses, because some might be more willing to leave if a rebuild starts. Currently asking a player to waive a clause feels like it gives a random result (it might not be, but it feels like it). Either way, it feels a bit awkward when a team has a set direction that might not be the direction I want to go. Realistically, it would feel better to do a rebuild if the goal for the team is to rebuild and not to reach the second round in the playoffs and have 22 road wins, all while I tear it down.

That's just off the top of my head, but I could think and write for a day about ideas and suggestions. I try not to ask for too much, although it feels like that is exactly what I'm doing (with some things). 😅 I get that it is very difficult to add things and make sure that they work, especially with an annual release. Looking forward to the release of the game! 

The puck physics in NHL 25 were absolutely terrible. Bounces were incredibly predictable and when they should go in the direct the law of physics would point to. It was somehow change direction and bounce to a player or in the corner close to a player. Countless times you could tell when bounces were working either for you or against you. You get poke checked and instead of the puck going away from the player. It would bounce weirdly back to your team mate. You shoot point one timers and it would predictably go off the blocker and into the low corner or out. You would sweep check the puck away and instead of it going away from the player. Your stick would just glitch through their stick and the puck and the puck would go back to their stick blade immediately. You hit your opponent and instead of the players stick pushing the puck randomly. It would just glide and the team mate would immediately know where the puck is to pick it up. Just pre generated garbage that made no sense.