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
Issues with gameplay
Frustrated with Issues and Goalie AI in NHL 26 The current state of NHL 26 has major issues. Instead of fixing core gameplay problems that have plagued this series for years, the focus has shifted to adding new features while ignoring fundamental flaws. Here are the main issues that need to be addressed: * **Goalie AI & Performance:** Goalie tuning is incredibly inconsistent. Poor goalie positioning and flawed logic frequently break the gameplay experience. * **Glitch Goals:** Repeatable, exploit-based goals continue to ruin competitive play. These legacy exploits should have been patched long ago, yet they remain completely unaddressed. * **Misplaced Priorities:** It is incredibly frustrating to see new features introduced when the foundational gameplay mechanics are still broken or outdated. If these core gameplay issues aren't prioritized and fixed, there is no justification for buying NHL 27. The game needs fundamental fixes, not more additions.
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.
Updated: LIST OF ALL NHL26 NEW FACE SCANS ADDED AND MISSING
FULL AUTHENTIC REAL SCANS Macklin Celebrini (SJS) – CONFIRMED SCAN Matvei Michkov (PHI) – CONFIRMED SCAN Lane Hutson (MTL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Mathew Schaefer (NYI) – CONFIRMED SCAN, hair too short Michael Misa (SJS) – CONFIRMED SCAN, wrong hair way too long and light AI-GENERATED SCAN ADDED AND NEEDED (EA likeness + generic hair) Will Smith (SJS) – CONFIRMED SCAN (bad quality) Dustin Wolf (CGY) Ivan Demidov (MTL) Zeev Buium (MIN) Cutter Gauthier (ANA) – CONFIRMED SCAN Sam Colangelo (ANA) Jackson LaCombe (ANA) Mason Lohrei (BOS) – CONFIRMED SCAN Martin Pospisil (CGY) Kevin Bahl (CGY) – CONFIRMED SCAN Jason Dickinson (CHI) Frank Nazar (CHI) – CONFIRMED SCAN (bad quality) Alex Vlasic (CHI) – CONFIRMED SCAN Artyom Levshunov (CHI) Sam Rinzel (CHI) Logan Stankoven (CAR) – CONFIRMED SCAN Yegor Chinakhov (CBJ) – CONFIRMED SCAN Dmitri Voronkov (CBJ) – CONFIRMED SCAN Cole Sillinger (CBJ) – CONFIRMED SCAN Jack Drury (CAR) Thomas Harley (DAL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Simon Edvinsson (DET) – CONFIRMED SCAN Vasily Podkolzin (VAN) – CONFIRMED SCAN Matthew Savoie (EDM) Alex Laferriere (LAK) – CONFIRMED SCAN Niko Mikkola (FLA) – CONFIRMED SCAN Alex Turcotte (LAK) Alex Newhook (MTL) Jake Evans (MTL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Kaiden Guhle (MTL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Mike Matheson (MTL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Will Cuylle (NYR) – CONFIRMED SCAN Will Borgen (NYR) Fabian Zetterlund (OTT) – CONFIRMED SCAN Noah Cates (PHI) Pius Suter (STL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Matias Maccelli (TOR) – CONFIRMED SCAN Filip Chytil (VAN) – CONFIRMED SCAN Nils Hoglander (VAN) Connor McMichael (WSH) – CONFIRMED SCAN Aliaksei Protas (WSH) – CONFIRMED SCAN Ryan Leonard (WSH) Josh Doan (BUF) Michael Kesselring (BUF) – CONFIRMED SCAN Ryan McLeod (BUF) – CONFIRMED SCAN Jiri Kulich (BUF) Jack Quinn (BUF) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) Connor Geekie (TBL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Mavrik Bourque (DAL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Zachary Bolduc (MTL) Dalibor Dvorsky (STL) Jimmy Snuggerud (STL) Dylan Holloway (STL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Jake Neighbours (STL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Philip Broberg (STL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Pavel Dorofeyev (VGK) – CONFIRMED SCAN Maxim Tsyplakov (NYI) – CONFIRMED SCAN Darren Raddysh (TBL) – CONFIRMED SCAN Jack McBain (UTA) – CONFIRMED SCAN LIKELY TO HAVE GENERIC FACE Yaroslav Askarov (SJS) Zayne Parekh (CGY) Oliver Moore (CHI) David Reinbacher (MTL) Rutger McGroarty (PIT) Denton Mateychuk (CBJ) Alexander Nikishin (CAR) Fabian Lysell (BOS) Jackson Blake (CAR) Gabe Perreault (NYR) Quentin Musty (SJS) Beckett Sennecke (ANA) Tij Iginla (UTA) Sam Dickinson (SJS) Konsta Helenius (BUF) Cole Hutson (WSH) Daniil But (UTA) Dmitri Simashev (UTA) Berkly Catton (SEA) Axel Sandin-Pellikka (DET) …and many more. The rest of the 2022 to 2025 draft classes are also likely to have generics if missing from the game already.Unplayable Lag on Xbox
The lag on all online modes on Xbox Series consoles is terrible. It stutters and jumps every couple of seconds. It’s happening in HUT and Online VS. I have 22ms average ping. 500 mbps download speeds on Ethernet. I cross posted this to Reddit and have heard from others that it’s happening to them too. I wanted to post it here to hopefully get developer eyes on this because it is currently impossible to play online.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.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!
