NHL 27 brings back Connected Franchise after 11 years, but AI teams are missing

EA Sports has announced NHL 27, out September 11 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini on the cover. The headline feature is the return of Connected Franchise — a mode that hasn't appeared in an NHL game since NHL 14 back in 2013.

The catch: Connected Franchise only supports human-controlled teams. EA's own website confirms that teams without a human user cannot be controlled, traded with, or played against, which means you need 32 real people to fill out a full league. Player aging, retirement, and season stats also don't carry over between years — though the mode is not limited to a single season, as NHL 27's franchise strategy and marketing manager clarified on social media. "Want to clear up one misconception: NHL 27 Connected Franchise is not limited to one season. Your league does not end after Year 1," the manager wrote, adding that roster moves like trades and free agent claims do carry forward. EA says a blog and Feedback Portal are coming so the community can flag what they want prioritized next. Beyond Connected Franchise, NHL 27 also brings rebuilt team playbooks, updated camera work, and a new broadcast commentary duo in John Buccigross and Darren Pang.

Connected Franchise was a staple of older NHL titles, letting groups of friends run full online leagues together. Its absence for over a decade has been a persistent complaint in the franchise community, so its return — even in a stripped-down form — is a notable move from EA. The NHL series has faced criticism in recent years for slow feature development, and bringing back a long-requested mode is clearly meant to signal momentum.

Fan reaction has been mixed. The initial excitement over Connected Franchise's return cooled quickly once the no-AI-teams limitation surfaced, with many players asking EA to add CPU-controlled franchises so leagues don't require a full roster of 32 humans. EA hasn't committed to that yet, but the Feedback Portal suggests the studio is at least listening.