EA Sports NHL Guide to Be a Pro, Franchise Mode and Skill Moves

This is our starting point for EA Sports NHL. It covers NHL 27’s modes, platforms and controls, and it tells you which guide to open first. The Bills are our first love, but plenty of us spend the winter on the couch with the Sabres and a controller. Here’s how to get more wins out of those nights.

What the EA Sports NHL guide hub covers and who it’s for

This hub is for players who want to get better at EA Sports NHL, mainly in Be a Pro, Franchise Mode and the on-ice skills both of them depend on. Our guides are written for the current game. NHL 27 was developed by EA Vancouver and published by EA Sports, and it is the 36th game in the NHL series, released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S on September 11, 2026.

Who gets the most out of these guides

There are three types of player we had in mind:

• The career player who builds one skater and wants to climb from junior hockey to a captain’s “C”.
• The armchair GM who would rather sweat cap hits and trade deadlines than one-timers.
• The returning player who last played seriously around NHL 14 and wants to know what changed.

That last group has a good reason to come back this year. The biggest addition to this year’s game is Connected Franchise, an online franchise mode. For anyone who ran a league with friends back in the day, that’s a welcome return.

What these guides don’t cover

We stick to the parts of the game that decide whether you win: career decisions, roster building, dekes and fights. You won’t find pack odds or HUT investing advice here. If you play several sports series and want the bigger picture, our sports gaming guides hub covers ratings, picks and tips for all of them.

The game itself has been tightened up, too. NHL 27 uses NHL EDGE data and EA’s ICE-Q system to give all 32 teams their own playbooks and tendencies, and teams change strategy during a game, pressing harder when they’re behind or playing safer while protecting a lead. So the AI you face in December won’t play like the AI from three games ago. That’s good news if you like a challenge and bad news if you’ve been winning with one trick.

NHL 27 editions, modes and platforms at a glance

NHL 27 comes in two editions, runs only on current-generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and has five main ways to play. The game is available in Standard and Deluxe editions. Check prices on the PlayStation Store or the Microsoft Store before you buy, because they change with sales.

Platforms

The old-console question comes up every fall. The answer hasn’t changed since NHL 25 became the first game in the series released only on ninth-generation consoles. Cross-play is the bigger news, since Connected Franchise has full cross-play across leagues and cross-play custom roster sharing, including alumni leagues, retro rosters and custom builds.

Modes

The offline Franchise Mode got some love this year as well. EA’s developer recap lists CBA rules like authentic contract extensions, unsigned rookie management and a Playoff Salary Cap, plus lineup screens that calculate cap hits on the fly under the 18+2 roster counting rule.

Heads up: Connected Franchise is new, and EA says it’s a work in progress. EA has said a Connected Franchise Fantasy Draft is being targeted for NHL 27 Live, so don’t plan your league around a fantasy draft until it actually arrives.

How to get started in NHL 27, step by step

Pick your controls first, update the game second and choose your mode third. Most early frustration in NHL games comes from doing those in the wrong order. Here’s the setup we’d use before a first serious session.

1. Install the latest update. EA released NHL 27 Update 1 on September 10, ahead of the September 11 global launch. Later patches change gameplay tuning, so let the console finish downloading before you judge how anything feels.
2. Choose a control scheme. Skill Stick gives you the full set of dekes and shot types on the right stick. Hybrid and the NHL 94 style controls move more actions onto face buttons and are easier to learn. Skill Stick has the highest ceiling, and every deking guide we write assumes you’re using it.
3. Set a difficulty you’ll lose on sometimes. If you win every game 7 to 1, you’re not learning anything. Move up one level once you’re winning about two out of three.
4. Spend 15 minutes in Practice Mode. Work on shooting off the pass and moving the puck from your forehand to your backhand before you take it into a real game.
5. Pick your mode with the decision rule below.
6. Decide on rosters before you start a save. Be a Pro and Franchise both let you choose default or custom rosters. Changing your mind 40 games in means starting over.

The decision rule for picking a mode

If you want to get better at the on-ice game, start in Be a Pro. You only control one skater, so every mistake is clearly yours and easy to fix. If you’d rather hire a coach, fight the cap and draft players, start with offline Franchise and simulate the games you don’t feel like playing. Only join a Connected Franchise league once you know the rules of offline Franchise. It’s no fun learning cap logic while 31 friends wait on you.

Pro tip: Write down your settings before your first patch. When a game feels off after an update, you’ll know whether the patch changed things or you did.

The things that matter most in EA Sports NHL, explained

Four things decide most results in NHL 27: how you use your skater’s role in Be a Pro, how you manage the cap in Franchise, how you deke, and when you drop the gloves. Here are the NHL game tips we’d give a friend.

Be a Pro is now a leadership climb

NHL 27’s Be a Pro is built around earning a letter. According to EA’s deep dive, failing or only partly completing your objectives as a Non-Leader keeps you there, completing them promotes you to Leader, and overachieving can jump you straight to Alternate Captain or even Captain. The payoff is real: a Captain can request specific linemates and take an active role in roster management.

The career can also start before the NHL. You can now use Custom Rosters in the World Juniors when you start in the Memorial Cup or Champions Hockey League.

Franchise is a cap puzzle first

Fans who loved the pressure of the Bills’ cap crunches will feel at home here. Every lineup decision now shows its cap hit, and the Playoff Salary Cap means you can’t just stack the roster at the deadline and forget about it. Connected Franchise leagues can choose variable season lengths and custom salary cap rules: no cap, low cap or standard cap.

Skill moves after the L2 and LT nerf

The biggest gameplay change for deke-heavy players is short. EA’s developer recap says L2/LT has been nerfed, and defensive tools strengthened. If last year’s go-to move was holding that trigger and walking around defenders, expect more poke checks and more stripped pucks. Our deking guide is written with this nerf in mind.

A worked example: our first Sabres season

Say we take over the Sabres in offline Franchise. In the first week we set lines and check the 18+2 count on the lineup screen, so we never dress more skaters than the rules allow. Before the trade deadline we hold back some cap room, because the Playoff Salary Cap still applies after the deadline. Then we play the divisional games ourselves and sim the rest, so the hours go where the standings move most.

Common mistakes players make

Heads up: Scheme fit had a bug at launch. Update 1 fixed scheme-fit conversations where player line strategies weren’t accurately mapped to the head coach’s strategies. If your save started before that update, check those conversations again.

The NHL guides to read first and why

Start with the guide for the mode you play most, then read the deking guide, then the fighting guide. That order builds from decisions to skills to the occasional scrap.

Suggested reading order

Why this order works

NHL Be a Pro Tips comes first for career players because the leadership storyline rewards a plan from your very first game. Promotions, linemate requests and trade deadline input all depend on hitting objectives. Even trade deadline input is tied to rank: only a Captain or Cornerstone can give the GM direct input on team needs as the deadline approaches.

NHL Franchise Mode Tips comes first for GMs because the cap and roster rules punish you for learning as you go. One bad extension in year one can tie up your cap for three seasons. If you’ve seen a long contract age badly in real life, you know how that goes.

How to Deke in NHL is the most useful skill guide for everyone, because almost every mode ends in a scoring chance. With the L2 and LT nerf, a lot of what worked last year needs a fresh look.

How to Fight in NHL comes last on purpose. Fighting is a fun part of hockey and sometimes a smart one, but it rarely decides a game the way a clean zone entry does. Learn when a fight helps your team before you learn how to win one.

Pro tip: Read one guide, then play three games before you open the next one. Advice sticks better once you’ve actually used it on the ice.

Every EA Sports NHL guide in this section

Below is the full list of guides in this section, and it updates automatically as we add new ones. Each guide covers one task, so open the one that matches the problem you’re having tonight. As EA patches NHL 27 through the season, we update the guides, especially anything affected by gameplay tuning or Connected Franchise fixes.

All NHL guides

• NHL Franchise Mode Tips for Building a Real Stanley Cup ContenderA fan-to-fan NHL franchise guide covering setup, cap management, scouting, prospects and trades, plus a full Sabres rebuild walkthrough and the mistakes…

FAQ

Is NHL 27 on PC?

No, NHL 27 is only on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. The series hasn’t had a PC version in years, and EA hasn’t announced one for NHL 27.

Is NHL 27 on PS4 or Xbox One?

No, NHL 27 is only on current-generation consoles. NHL 25 was the first game in the series that skipped PS4 and Xbox One, and NHL 27 does the same.

Does NHL 27 have online franchise mode?

Yes, Connected Franchise lets you run one online league with up to 32 teams. It includes commissioner tools, flexible scheduling, custom salary cap rules and cross-play.

Should beginners start with Be a Pro or Franchise Mode?

Start with Be a Pro if you want to learn the on-ice controls, because you only handle one skater. Go with Franchise if you care more about building a roster than about your stickhandling.

Which control scheme should I use in NHL 27?

Use Skill Stick if you want the full set of dekes and shot types. Hybrid or the NHL 94 style controls are easier to pick up, but you give up some of the advanced moves.

Can I use custom rosters in Be a Pro?

Yes, NHL 27 lets you pick default or custom rosters when you set up a Be a Pro career. That includes the World Juniors path when you start in the Memorial Cup or Champions Hockey League.

Sources

• EA SPORTS NHL 27 Be a Pro Leadership Storyline Deep Dive
• EA SPORTS NHL 27 Developer Q&A Recap
• EA SPORTS NHL 27 Connected Franchise
• EA Sports introducing Connected Franchise mode in NHL 27