NHL 27 Brings Back A Fan-Favorite Mode Not Seen In Years, But It’s Not What It Seems
EA Sports has announced NHL 27, featuring 20-year-old star Macklin Celebrini on the cover. The latest entry in the professional ice hockey gaming franchise includes anticipated improvements across multiple fronts: enhanced graphics, rebuilt team playbooks, and updated camera work to provide a more immersive experience.
However, the most significant announcement for longtime fans is the return of Connected Franchise mode, a feature that hadn’t appeared in an NHL game since 2013’s NHL 14—over a decade of absence. The community had been requesting this mode’s return for years, and its official announcement generated considerable excitement among franchise mode enthusiasts.
The enthusiasm proved premature for some fans, though, once deeper details about the mode’s implementation came to light. According to EA’s official NHL 27 website, Connected Franchise only supports human-controlled teams, a notable limitation that significantly diverges from what some players anticipated. This restriction means certain franchise management options are unavailable, disappointing those who had hoped for a fuller restoration of the classic mode.
The exact scope of additional limitations remains unclear from available information, but this revelation demonstrates that while EA is willing to revive dormant features, the implementation may differ substantially from fan expectations.