- EA dropped its Connected Franchise deep dive Wednesday, detailing NHL 27’s new online league mode
- Leagues run from three friends up to a full 32 teams, with crossplay roster sharing and unlimited seasons
- Read below for the commissioner tools, the trade rules and NHL 27’s release date
Online leagues are back in the NHL series.
EA Sports dropped its Connected Franchise deep dive on Wednesday, laying out the mode that lets a group of friends run their own league inside NHL 27. The studio says it rebuilt the whole thing on new infrastructure for a “significantly faster, smoother experience than in the old GM Connected days.”
The developers spelled out the goal in the blog that went up alongside the trailer:
“That’s what Connected Franchise is about: building long-running communities where groups of friends can compete head-to-head.”
Watch the full deep dive:
Leagues run anywhere from three friends to all 32 teams. Commissioners generate a League ID, drop it in a group chat, and let people claim whichever teams are open.
Customization goes deep. Groups can start on EA’s default rosters, use the updated ones that drop through the year, or build their own with created players, custom teams and custom arenas. Roster sharing works across consoles, so everybody is playing off the same file.
Schedule format, playoff format, salary cap rules, division and conference setup and gameplay sliders are all up to the commissioner. Seasons are unlimited, and games do not have to be played in order. If two GMs are online and the matchup is available, they can just play it.
Trades can involve up to five players per deal, and every GM gets a trade block where they can list five names plus the positions, ages or salaries they want coming back. Free agents go to a bidding system with priority lists.
Commissioners get the heaviest toolkit. They review every trade and free agent claim, they can force a 1-0 result or overturn a game ruined by a disconnect, and they can move players between rosters, change rules mid-season or blast a message to every GM’s in-game inbox. EA explained why it put so much work there:
“If a league stalls, people drift. If tools are too limited, commissioners end up bogged down in external spreadsheets.”
Here’s EA’s first look at the mode:
Playoffs get their own hub for series matchups and box scores. Once a champion is crowned, commissioners can realign divisions and reset for a new year, and they can shrink the league by cutting any team nobody is controlling. Those players go straight to the free agent pool.
NHL 27 launches worldwide on September 11 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with Deluxe Edition buyers getting in on September 4. Macklin Celebrini is on the cover, and he showed up in the deep dive footage at a 95 overall, though EA stamped the screen with a note that ratings are not final.
Take a look at the reveal trailer from July if you missed it:
EA is calling this a foundation rather than a finished mode, and it opened an NHL 27 feedback portal to decide what gets built into Connected Franchise next.
