Top 5 Changes Needed For NHL 18 Franchise Mode

[badazzleroybrown]

the ability to import goalie masks or a tool to create our own and share
the net coming off the moorings
nba 2k has free throw routines how about nhl have shooting styles or celebrations for each player
this game is so robotic
legends should be able to use off line franchise mode, if i need to purchase them in any way i will if i can use
them offline but i will never pay for anything used for online only.

a new faceoff system and the ability to get sticks broken in face offs

[actionhank]

I would love for the AI to have better trade needs and desires, dynamically based on what they have, how players are performing, and where they're going.

A team with a lot of older players, not a lot of rookies, but still in a playoff spot might try to flip some lower performing UFA's-to-be to improve areas of weakness, or might just stand pat and hold onto their picks and prospects. It might also be nice to have a team's wins in the past affect it. A team like Chicago might be less likely to make any serious moves whereas a franchise like the Blues might make that gamble just to get their first cup.

On the other hand, a younger team that's missing the playoffs, but needs picks and prospects might look to move UFA's, and maximize on players that are having abnormally good years in terms of statistics.

Having stats affect a player's ability to demand better contracts, and return more in a trade would be huge. In the game right now, term and contract cost don't really affect a player's worth. I could still return a great package for a player like Shattenkirk who's got 2 months left on a contract, and is going to get paid afterwards. In real life, he doesn't return the same thing he would in the game.

[RicoLaguna]

Franchise Mode needs the ability to PLAY ANY GAME from around the league like all other sports games allow. this way when your bored or just want to play some key matchups or all the post season games, you can!

Also, Players and Teams still do not have their own play style and identities that seperate themselves enough...so I think badges, or key attributes are long overdue. PES has them, NBA 2k has them, now MLB the SHow has them!

We need key specialization attributes or badges that seperate the different players so we can see alot more variety on the ice...Every team and every player seem to do the same things. There is not enough variation!

[clarkerots]

1) Trade deadline/Team Management definitely needs to be worked on. There should be buyers and sellers. They should also bring back the phones. The best features of the phones is that the trade deadline is broken into hours, not days. It was cool to make trades, or see trades, at 10 AM, sim forward, and then you’re at 11AM of the trade deadline. Teams should also manage their rosters better. If you have Carey Price as your goalie, you probably shouldn’t pick up Ben Bishop from free agency.

2) Assistant coaches would be great. I should be able to hire a coach that may affect my special teams, and a goalie coach as well.

3) Full customization of my league. If you play online you have to use online rosters, so why does it matter what I do to MY rosters in MY league. If I want to have a team full of 99 rated players, all named DeWayne Gretzky, let me. Let me change ratings, faces, names, etc. Its MY league.

4) Rarely if at all talked about, a search player feature. If I want to find a player to edit, or move, etc., I’d like to search that player and find them. This prevents me, especially in the minors, from searching team to team in order to edit a player after a roster update.

[KomicJ]

1) Roster sharing is a must for me to buy the game next year. If I have to go through manually edit every single player in the game by myself again, I'll just do it on NHL 17.

2) The other thing I'll be looking for is...FASTER MENUS ! I have no clue how EA can possibly think that this aspect of the game is on-par with what consumers are right to expect from a current gen title, but personally, I can't take it anymore.

3) Better roster management AI. Right now, it's way to easy to trade an upcoming UFA for a very good return, especially since the trade value for red elite, top-6 forwards or top-4 defenseman are so low. AI needs to take upcoming UFA status into account way more than that, among other things. And I agree with everybody who pointed it out: trade deadline should be an event by itself. So does that All-Star Game.

4) In fact, the whole 'contract' thing needs to be reworked. From players expected salaries (there's no way I should be able to sign Jack Eichel, a 91 medium franchise player in his early 20's, to an 8-year contract extensions for $6.5m) to the whole negociation aspect of the game. Right now, it's way to easy to sign or re-sign players, if you're any good at math. We need to be able to negociate with players during their last year of contract, add clauses (so frequent for UFAs)...and have players actually decide to test free agency and force us to make the best of it, rather than just re-signing with us, every single time.

5) SCOUTING needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. This is not it. It never was, and never will be. Allow us to scout a bunch of specific players, or scout a specific area of his ratings. Let us see players stats, even if they are artificially based on players ratings, rather than actual simulation. And, just like the Trade Deadline, the NHL Entry Draft should feel like an event. Right now, it's rather dull in terms of presentation.

That's my top-5. But there are many other things that EA could (and needs) to do to improve this mode. The ability to check at previous game boxscores, farm club and goaltending management options, coaching and staffing, improvements on team and individual stats (by the way, playing at home SHOULD be an advantage guys, but for some reason, my away record always seems to be better).

And that's just on the franchise management front. But there are many things to improve in the actual game itself, from players positioning and game management in general (never seen that much forecheck on the PK in my entire life), to team and players identity (playing against Chara shouldn't feel like playing against Calvin De Haan). Improved faces, real goalie masks, real coaches, etc...

I've been playing this series for the better part of my 38-year life, and it kills me to see what it has become. Right now, it is YEARS behind what every NHL fans should be expecting at this point.

[JPD_Patrol]

I'd like the AI to draft according to needs, and not always the best players available. In one of my franchise mode, the Red Wings have pretty much been bottom feeders for the entire duration of the mode. I'm in the late 2030s and I think I've seen Detroit in the playoffs less than 5 times. They usually hover around 25-30th in the league.

Why ? Because they always draft forwards.

I'm astonished by how incompetent the AI is. How can the Red Wings rebuild when they draft High Top 9 players with their 2nd overall pick, and then a bunch of Med-Low Bottom 6F over the course of every draft. Their defense is dreadful and so is their goaltending.

They never trade away any of their countless snipers and playmakers, instead keeping them until they hit free agency, many of whom I picked up for pennies. No wonder they suck.

[brandon27]

It's pretty simple for me:

- open editing of anything and everything from player names, to appearance, equipment, ratings, all of this for CPU controlled teams as well as my own.

- Not really franchise related, but roster sharing is key for NHL 18 as well


Everything else is secondary to those first two, to the point I likely won't buy if they aren't included. Id also like to see others, such as:

- ability to build a new arena without locating
- contracts anytime
- better execution of tread deadline, as someone mentioned earlier, break it down into hours like it used to be. Similar to how Fifa handles the countdown with transfers
- control over player development/progression
- better scouting system

[wolfsjetta12]

I agree with all of you, having better trade logic and making the trade deadline an actual event. I just passed the deadline in my franchise and two trades were made! I'd like to have the ability to not only send players down to the AHL but also the ECHL. If I have a player that isn't getting playing time, now he's just scratched all the time instead of being able to play him in the ECHL. I think roster sharing is a must. I also like the idea of being able to fully customize everything in my league.