NHL 20: 6 Things EA should fix in franchise Mode

NHL 20 comes out shortly. What things should be fixed in it?

With the NHL 20 trailer out and beta coming soon, the real question is are they just going to do the same thing? Will they make the game look really good in the trailers just to put out a product that is subpar at best?

Since NHL 15, there has been little to improve “Be a GM” mode, or as it is known now, “Franchise” mode. The most recent addition was a more in-depth approach to scouting not only potential draft picks but also players you may want to trade for on other teams.

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While this is an interesting piece that could still use a lot of improvement, it was a start in a revamping of a game mode that has been neglected for too long. Here are some things that we want to be fixed for the offline mode, which would make NHL 20 playable when you can’t find someone to play online with.

1. Season stats that make sense

I am so tired of seeing Connor McDavid, the highest overall player in the game at 94, barely hit 80 points and nobody gets close to hitting 100 points. Teams that are stacked like the Tampa Bay Lightning go on 10 game losing streaks but still finish with a great record because earlier in the season they went on a 25 game win streak.

The sim engine is still set for scoring back from the 2015 season where players weren’t hitting 100 points. With scoring seemingly up it is time to update that engine along with making teams who have better teams have greater consistency. Playing a season with the Lightning should feel smooth and not have you worrying at the midpoint of the season if you should trade Nikita Kucherov because he only has 30 points in 50 games.

2. Ability to share custom rosters

I have spent hours on all the NHL Games editing players, creating custom players, and making teams with players I have always wanted to see together. I want to be able to share that with my friends or my followers so they can enjoy the rosters that maybe they haven’t thought of. It’s a concept that would make a lot more people stay on the game longer and inspire some creativity among offline players who play franchise mode.

For example, I have a roster where I have all the players from the USNTDP, like number one overall pick Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield, created with their correct equipment, correct heights, biography information, etc.

I have also created a Legends roster with players like Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr since they don’t allow you to play with them in this mode. Making rosters more realistic makes this game mode a lot more entertaining and the ability to share rosters would really give players a reason to keep playing this game.

3. Free Agency

How can Artemi Panarin sign in real life for $11 mil+ but in a game where I have at 91 overall sign for only $6 million. The amount of the contracts in this game barely ever make sense besides for players 85 and under.

Another problem is not knowing why one player will sign with another beside a generic “I have decided to sign with another team because they are more my age group” when the player is 25 and you have a competing team with players of all ages.

Being able to fix the salaries for players would go a long way. Having a menu that shows who signed extensions or players who are or aren’t going to resign with their club would be useful. It would also be nice to have the option of a sign and trade.

4. Trades

Trading in the game has been one of the biggest issues for me. You see players getting traded for prospects that just have a high potential. I wouldn’t mind if there was a different trade value bar for different players and where a team stands in its contention window.

For example, when trading for prospects and picks, the trade value will be higher than if you trade Bowen Byram for Victor Hedman. The trade value would be a lot lower for that trade because of Tampa being a contender versus a rebuilding team, such as the New York Rangers when they had Ryan McDonagh, the trade value of prospects would be higher.

Just those small things make a ton of difference in gameplay when you are attempting to go through a rebuild. All prospects and players have the same value to every team. It makes the game more predictable and less exciting.

5. Having the KHL and USHL

While you can draft people from the USA and from Russia, you can’t go into those leagues and edit players or see who these players are. The KHL doesn’t allow their likeness to be in these games so none of their players or teams are allowed. The USHL, while a junior league, isn’t connected to the NHL like the CHL, so its players and their likenesses aren’t allowed either.

I don’t think that this will ever happen due to just complicated relationship the NHL has with other leagues. But to have both the USHL and the KHL would be awesome. It would be awesome to have the players who used to play in the NHL able to move them over to NHL teams or to be able to switch NHL squads for KHL teams.

To have the USHL in there would mean drafting in the games would be a lot more realistic, especially considering seven of the top 15 were from the USHL this past draft.

6. The little things

There will always be things that they could bring back from former games. For example, how about the ability to see your overall record as a general manager and the information of what awards you’ve won? Seeing your all-time stats, the ability to win the “GM Of The Year” award and maybe having objectives throughout your career to achieve.

Some of those objectives could be as follows.

• Get 100 wins, 200 etc..
• Have other GM’s records up to beat them and become the winningest in history
• Having a Norris, Rocket or whatever award winner on your teams
• Breaking the most wins record in a single season

Just having more incentive to continue playing franchise mode as players get older and you end up with players that are computer-generated.

A couple of other ideas would be for you to retire a players jersey and have that ceremony for them. Playing franchise mode going into 10+ years in the game you want to create storylines so being able to retire players jerseys would make the game that much more enjoyable.