First off your fanboyism will get you nowhere quick. PS plus was made because the PSN was not exactly made for playing multiplayer games. It was made as a service that you could buy full games off of and with Sony finally getting more popular last year when Microsoft dropped the ball saying no used games etc Sony realized that if they were to have a lot of people playing online all the time they would need money to make better servers. Its as simple as that. If you want to cry about online costing you money then go to Sony's forums about it. EA's servers are not the best for NHL because lets face it its the 3rd most popular sports game they make (arguably) behind NFL and FIFA. Either way if you have at least a 6 upload and 20+ download then you should have no problems with YOUR end of the game. HUT and other online modes are P2P so unfortunately you have to blame the other persons POS internet at times too. this gen consoles are just not up to snuff yet when it comes to online. Its sad but you either deal with it or go get a PC.