I grew up playing EA’s NHL series. The first one I had was NHL 2005 for the GameCube, but I don’t really remember playing it that much. Come to think of it, that game may have been more for my dad than myself, but I digress.

By the time NHL 07 was released, I was in full-blown hockey fandom. I was obsessed, and being able to be the Edmonton Oilers’ general manager in franchise mode was a dream come true.

That’s where I spent most of my time gaming — between the Halo series and other games here and there — for the better part of the next dozen years. The games in the early 2010s felt innovative. They introduced the hit stick, skill stick, and there were legitimate changes to the game on a yearly basis. From big things to small details, every year was more than just a roster update.

NHL 22 was the last one that I regularly played, and when NHL 23 was released, I didn’t purchase it for the first time since the 07 edition. Call it a form of protest, call it a form of being tired of EA’s inability to innovate, call it what it was — the game turned into a yearly roster update as the company raked in money from microtransactions.

While it may be symbolic of the plight of video games as a whole in this generation, it was wholly disappointing to see how much the game had fallen off. I miss the innovation. I miss the updates. I miss when Auston Matthews didn’t land on the cover in two of three years. I miss EA feeling like they actually care about the player base.

Believe me — I’ve wanted nothing more than to upgrade to the latest generation of consoles so I can get back into the franchise full-on, but after seeing what appears to be another edition void of new life, I don’t think I will.

For one, players have reported very little in terms of updates. Franchise mode appears untouched, and that mode has been in need of a serious revamp for years. I mean, come on — they can’t even generate player models for draft picks! And there are accounts everywhere about the issues that remain in the gameplay, too.

Speaking of player faces, another crux of my disdain for the franchise: the actual player models. All over social media, people have been sharing some brutal player models, and I can’t help but laugh.

Here are a couple of examples of some Oilers players, and others around the league.

He’s the face of the league, and yet, his face looks like that? Come on, man!

For the love of god, nobody show Kennedy this one.

Okay, that one is kind of close.

Did uh… did they just use the same model from NHL 10?

Talk about shell shock. This guy has seen some shit.

Hahahahahahahahaha.

I don’t mean to be rude, but why does he have hair?

Uh… yikes.

Oh, so that’s where all the face scan budget went.

Well, what about the gameplay? Here are a couple of clips I’ve seen in recent days.

Just how it’s supposed to work!

Nice to see things looking fresh.

The game releases in full on Sept. 11, but players have already gotten a look at it through a 10-hour EA Play trial. Surely there’s enough time to go back and make fixes… right?!

Talk to any fan of the NHL series, and most of them will say the game was at its peak around NHL 14 (We’re not accounting for the tremendous NHL Hitz or the 2K series in this). Sure, there may be a tinge of nostalgia for when we were younger, but for all the reasons I listed above, it really might’ve been the best.

Electronic Arts isn’t hurting for money in any sense of the term, reporting a net income of $1.12 billion — yes, with a B — in its 2025 fiscal year alone. When it was sold to a Saudi Arabia consotrium of investors in 2025, the deal came in at a whopping $55 billion. Billion!

The point being here there is money to go around here, and maybe one day we’ll be lucky enough to see this series get the love it deserves.

I’m not waiting with bated breath.

Zach Laing is Daily Faceoff Edmonton’s managing editor and The Nation Network’s news director. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.