Since announcing the game's launch in August, EA Sports has promised significant changes to several NHL 21 game modes, including Franchise mode. On October 6, we received more details about these changes, as the NHL developers highlighted the new features players can expect once the game launches on October 6. So what exactly are these changes? Let's go over everything new in Franchise Mode in NHL 21.
Trade Deadline Madness of the Day re-added
Back in the days of the NHL franchise on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Trade Deadline Day was a crazy experience. Players only had a few attempts to trade before the end of the day, meaning every planned move had to be built correctly. Otherwise, no exchange would be made.
The Trade Deadline madness was removed once the franchise moved to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but it will return in NHL 21, albeit in a different way. This year, teams will be on time on the deadline day, as you'll have six hours (9:00 a.m. to 15:00 p.m. EST) to complete transactions before the deadline expires.
You can either offer your own deals or wait to receive other potential offers from opposing teams during this time, but the type of deals you get will depend on your team's status. New in NHL 21 is an option to set your team's position as the deadline approaches. Players can choose one of four trade status options (seller, conservative seller, conservative buyer, buyer).
The trade deadline home screen is also a new addition to NHL 21. Users can see how much time is left, see which skaters and goalies are on the trade block, and see which teams are interested. by these players. There will also be a ticker at the bottom of the screen which will indicate which trades have already been made throughout the day.
Adding registers
While Franchise Mode players could see the season and all-time stats for individual players, what couldn't be seen were the all-time records in the NHL. That will change in NHL 21, as EA Sports added one-season and all-time records in the NHL for skaters and goaltenders. Additionally, one-season and all-time records for individual NHL franchises have also been added.
Several positions for players
In recent years, players in the NHL franchise have only been given one specific position (i.e. center, left wing, etc.). That will change in NHL 21, as players will now have multiple positions. This change, as EA notes, should help build the lineup.
Possibility to modify the draft class and the quality of the leads generated
New to NHL 21 is the ability to change the quality of prospects entering the league. Users can change the settings to create stronger draft classes, which should lead to more quality players entering the league, or weaker classes.
Business logic and changes in value
Finally, EA Sports noted that two other changes have been made to Franchise Mode. NHL developers have changed the business logic, to prevent processor-controlled teams from putting their draft picks on the trading block too early in the season. In addition, the NHL team also fine-tuned the business value system. Now there should be more separation between the value of two different players. In addition, center and defenders will now have more commercial value than goalies and wingers.
Related: All the changes coming to being a pro in NHL 21
