Mike Inglehart and the current dev team.

TBF,  no matter who the dev team is, as long as EA keeps NHL's budget miniscule, there isn't much they can do.

I don't think a larger budget would matter all that much - what's most important is a team that takes pride in their work

EAs contract with the NHL runs until 2030. The contract with the NHLPA is an ongoing contract with no definitive end date. Hope that helps. Regarding your displeasure with this franchise. You are obviously not alone. The last sales output had the franchise down 15% in sales from previous years. And i do agree. In order to have a viable, worthwhile product. You have to address the problems first, and correct that which can be. And if not fixable. Eliminated. Only then will your product be market ready. What also needs to be in place is. A recognition of problems vented by the buyers of this game, and the willingness to correct that which is not functioning accordingly. EA has been negligent of both of these. Not properly testing the game to make sure its fully ready. And the failure to address and fix problems as they arise. We all know the game cant be perfect. But it can be a lot better than what it is, if time is injected to make it so.

While I agree in general, there's only so much even a team that takes pride in the their work can do without the budget.  Further even a team that truly takes pride in their work will soon become disillusioned when realize how little EA corporate values the NHL series or their work. 

what development strategies would you implement that meaningfully differ from the current approach?

How would you reduce turnaround time on bug cases?

What’s your plan for reallocating resources to fast-track the fixes you feel should be prioritized?

I mean; if you’re going to call for the firing of the people who make this game - tell us the real-world differences you’d implement. Saying “make the game better and more realistic” would be an unserious reason for such a drastic move.

I don’t even think it’s a budget thing, just the stuff they add they don’t test for extended periods of time… or they don’t actually watch hockey, either way, the games horrible

First of I didn't ask for anyone to get the sack. I asked them to step aside. 

I pay top dollar every year for a game that has numerous issues that can't be fixed or if it gets fixed they cause more issues than before. 

If the budget is that low for NHL that should be reflected in the price for the consumer. 

Nobody mentioned a more realistic game. One that doesn't have numerous issues would be a start. 

Regarding budget. It does play into the overall cost, since they need to have a staff that is responsible for various aspects of the game. But with that said. If the developers, script writers, coders, programers are on top of their proffesion. Then the game itself should be on a consistent level. Problems would be minimal, and fixable when recognized. Each year, the game displays the same format. So that area doesnt need major alterations. Its when they bring about a new concept. Such as the pressure zone as an example. They waste experience on maintaining the aspects of the game that are working. And in doing so, a problem with these new designs, filters down into other areas, like a cancer. And it becomes more difficult to trouble shoot. Stick with whats working. Fix that which is broken, and then introduce new concepts. Provided they are truly vented, and flaws are illiminated before sale. Only then will your game reach the level of acceptance, that you should be striving for.

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I fully agree with you.

When you read this forum you quickly notice what customers think about this game.
This should be wake up call to the game development team and they would take this very seriously.  After all, its their job for which they are surely well paid.

But as we have noticed EA dont care at all. The things that players constantly complain about remain unresolved. EA add all kinds of visual elements to the game and even all kinds of monster masks, suits, etc. which are completely unnecessary in the game. Its very clear that EA has a really small team working on this game. Its absolutely incomprehensible that they would use their limited resources on something like this instead of the the core idea i.e. the development of authentic ice hockey game. 

EA should fix the basics of the game and if you ever have nothing else to do then you can make these masks and costumes but right now the game is in terrible shape so jesus christ wake up EA to this reality and focus on the game itself instead of developing unnecessary extra features. Example Stick lifts are still broken and late hitting is not fixed. These alone ruin the game. Its completely ridiculous that a player can do hits 2-3 seconds after other player passing the puck. Ive seen almost 100 hits in the game (competitive). For example, this late hit issue cannot be so difficult to fix that it takes several months. EA just doesnt care.

BTW Im pretty sure that these masks and costumes interest only a fraction of the players. The vast majority of players would prefer a functional game and a realistic hockey experience.

I just cant understand how the development of a hockey game could go so badly wrong.
Do the game developers follow hockey? Are they even hockey fans?

EA is HUGE company so i would expect a "little" better quality from the game.

BTW Im pretty sure that these masks and costumes interest only a fraction of the players. The vast majority of players would prefer a functional game and a realistic hockey experience.

You'd be surprised just how popular these are. It would be nice if we could choose to display them or not.

 Example Stick lifts are still broken and late hitting is not fixed. These alone ruin the game. Its completely ridiculous that a player can do hits 2-3 seconds after other player passing the puck.

Agreed. Especially the late hits. That is probably my biggest complaint currently.

Thank you for the feedback. I'll pass it on to the team.