Overhaul The AI

In a year where FIFA 16 and NBA 2K16 both made tremendous improvements to their on-field/on-court AI, it's sad to see NHL 16's CPU skaters still aimlessly wandering at times.

AI teams still struggle to gain possession inside the offensive zone, mostly due to poor decision making coming through the neutral zone. On many shifts, they will either hesitate and zig-zag around the red line before launching a futile dump attempt, or they'll skate the puck in a straight line down the side boards where you can easily crush their oncoming forward with a check.

In the few moments throughout a game where the CPU teams do setup their offense, they'll display inhuman speed and accuracy while slapping ping-pong passes around the perimeter until they can squeeze a one-timer pass through bodies/limbs/sticks to a forward who's camped near the crease. This cheap scoring tactic produces more goals than it should in NHL 16 because defenders don't have a tie-up move that can take away a forward's stick (on last-gen's game there is a tie-up move). Most matches I play against the AI see them producing one or two goals from 10 to 15 shots in less than five minutes of offensive zone possession. That's not a style of hockey I want to play against one time, let alone 82 times a season.

CPU skaters also show no urgency or desperation whenever their net is empty in the final minute of a game, allowing you to skate the puck out of your defensive zone and into their offensive zone like they still had a goalie backing them up. You can add an extra 20 to 30 goals onto your season total in NHL 16 just from the CPU's complete incompetence during empty net moments.

Defensively, the CPU is just far too passive in all situations. Even on "Superstar" difficulty, you can carry the puck end-to-end and deke around the offensive zone with minimal resistance from the computer's defense. Getting high-percentage scoring chances is as simple as skating into the center of the slot and shooting stick side. There's little incentive to work the puck around the point or dump it in behind the net and risk a turnover when you can just as easily skate to the “hot spots” and blast wrist shots past the CPU goalie all season long.

This has been the case for such a long time in the NHL series that I have to believe it's a design decision at this point. If EA doesn't want to make offense realistically difficult to generate because they fear it would upset their core user base, then at least give offline folks some functional sliders for “neutral zone pressure” and “defensive zone pressure.” A toggle option for stick physics would be nice, too, so that sticks can finally become solid objects immune to clipping. Fans have requested solid sticks forever, but it has not made it into the game yet because EA claims their internal testers did not like playing with that setting turned on. I don't see any harm in letting offline players decide for themselves whether or not they would prefer to play with realistic stick physics.

Take Be A GM Back Online

If EA Canada is not capable of fixing the AI issues, a potential workaround is letting human players replace the AI skaters in an online franchise mode. The company did exactly that when they debuted GM Connected inside NHL 13, but they also failed to address any of that mode's initial oversights in subsequent seasons on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Six humans versus six humans has been the optimal way to enjoy EA's hockey games since the EASHL appeared in NHL 09, but unfortunately, fans still cannot bring their online friends into franchise mode matches on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One -- maybe next year?

Offer Shorter Season Lengths

With an average completion time of 30 minutes per game, it will take you roughly 41 hours just to reach the end of NHL 16's regular season. And if you make the playoffs, it will take at least another eight hours of ice time before you can claim the Stanley Cup.

Simulating games (and inevitably injuring some of your key contributors) is not an acceptable solution for reducing this large time commitment. Especially when sports games have been offering multiple season lengths as far back as the Nintendo Entertainment System. There's no excuse for the forced 82-game schedule in NHL 16. It needs to become flexible next year.

Make The Menus Faster

Basic, repetitive tasks like making line adjustments and moving players to/from the minors also take up too much time in NHL 16 thanks to the game's slow-to-respond, slower-to-load menus. This is not an instance of EA's designers preferring form over function either because most of Be a GM's screens are bare and muted. Hardcore hockey fans love to tinker with every aspect of their team, but it should never be as mentally frustrating and fatiguing as it is in NHL 16.

Add Retired Legends To The Free Agent Pool

EA Canada is already paying licensing fees to put retired legends like Mike Modano and Pavel Bure into Hockey Ultimate Team, so why not let these hall of famers be used in other game modes?

I'd estimate that less than five percent of HUT users will ever be able to afford a single Gretzky or Lemieux card, so currently, all that licensing money is being wasted on athletes that most consumers are not able to use. Give offline players an option to put these GOATs into the free agent pool à la Madden NFL, and it will become money well spent.

Enable Online Roster Sharing

Roster editing was one of several features that EA rebuilt for NHL 16, but without the ability to share customized rosters online I can't see many people using this tool in its current state. Games like MLB 15: The Show and NBA 2K16 make it incredibly easy for the community's top roster creators to distribute their work, so why can't we have a similar upload/download service in NHL 17?

Allow Created Teams & Relocation/Expansion

Some people who play NHL 16 tend to avoid the franchise modes because they don't have a home team to root for. Designing new franchises or relocating/rebranding existing teams is a great way to get those types of users invested in a long-term franchise mode. It would also let people re-create classic teams since EA does not seem interested in licensing a large roster of retired athletes.

Create More Separation In Player Ratings

It's no wonder why every team in NHL 16 feels and plays the same when the majority of the league is clumped into an incredibly narrow 80 to 93 ratings range. One of the biggest reasons why NHL 94 was such a great hockey video game was that it used a wide ratings scale that went from 29 (Greg Smyth) to 100 (Mario Lemieux).

In that Sega Genesis classic, anyone who picks up a controller can immediately tell whether they're controlling a stud like Teemu Selänne versus a slug like Stu Grimson. They can do this without knowing much about hockey or needing to pause the game and check some arcane ratings table. NHL 17 must significantly widen its ratings range if the game is going to have any noticeable difference between controlling a fourth liner and a superstar.

Bring Back Hot/Cold Streaks

Another feature from NHL 94 that kept games from feeling repetitive was the randomized hot/cold streaks that impacted a couple of players' attribute ratings each night. Slumps and spurts are a part of every NHL season, but they don't truly exist inside NHL 16's season modes.

Instead of using intangible concepts like “locker room morale,” temporary attribute boosts/losses should be based on how well your players are performing on the ice. The game already has a sophisticated method of judging players' performances thanks to the Be a Pro and EASHL modes, so just use those grades to determine who's on hot/cold streaks throughout a season.

Add Live Goalie Injuries & Goalie Fatigue

Backup goaltenders are nothing but a wasted roster spot in NHL 16's season modes because your starting goalie won't fatigue at all from one game to the next, and he can never get injured during live gameplay (only during simulated games). You can use your starter in all 82 games without encountering any issues on the ice, which completely eliminates the strategy of having to plan your backup's starts throughout the season.

Make Goal Celebrations More Realistic

EA Canada's own FIFA games are great at triggering appropriate group celebrations during key goals. Scorers in NHL 16, however, remain stuck with a small selection of unrealistic two-person interactions. Celebration animations and cutscenes are something that occur frequently in franchise mode, and these moments should feel exhilarating, not empty and artificial.

The stat overlays should also be showing a player's season-long goal total, instead of displaying his single-game goal total.