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EA Sports released their much anticipated NHL12 today. Reviews and reports of game play/mechanics have been trickling in on my twitetr feed today, some of which I have decided to share. Apparently EA has gotten quite clever with this iteration and the "Be a GM" game mode hides some rather idiosyncratic quirks and pitfalls.

Be a GM – Edmonton Oilers

– Players frequently suffer injuries. Particularly star players. Injury frequency actually increases when fighters are added to the roster.

– You have to deal with constant, annoying trade requests from every player in the organization.

– UFA offers to new players are automatically rejected.

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– Baffling managerial decisions by Kevin Lowe crop up randomly and there’s nothing you can do about them.

– Every game starts with the Oilers down by at least two goals.

– No Oilers goalie can maintain a SV% above .905.

– It is impossible to win a fight while playing as Zach Stortini.

Be a GM – Calgary Flames

– Automatically changes whatever GM name you input to "Ken King"

– Prospects are always returned to the minor team, even after being put on the Flames active roster.

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– The playoffs end after round 1.

– Russian players cannot be traded for or signed.

– Newly signed players are automatically given a NTC.

– Consistently place 8th or below in the Western Conference, regardless of point totals.

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– Players traded to Toronto automatically gain 5+ points to their overall rating. The opposite happens with any player traded from Toronto.

Be a GM – Vancouver Canucks

– Only Vancouver players have an added "diving" rating, which is automatically 90 or above.

– Roberto Loungo is automatically pulled in high-pressure or important games.

– The Sedin twins can only stand idle while being assualted after the whistle.

– "Punch" buttons during a fight become "crouch" and "turtle" if the player is Alex Burrows.

– It is impossible to win four games in the Stanley Cup finals.

Be a GM – Toronto Maple Leafs

– Cannot trade for or sign players with "toughness" ratings below 80. Related: Colton Orr cannot be traded from the team nor scratched from the active roster.

– Only one player with an overall rating of 90 or above is allowed on the roster at any given time.

– Any Goalie acquired will automatically see his rating fall below 70.

– During season simulations, the Leafs win rate will double once they have been eliminated from the playoff race.

– Phil Kessel’s rating jumps from 55-85 randomly and for weeks at a time.

– Players traded from Calgary gain 5+ points to the overall rating. The opposite happens with any player traded to Calgary.

Be a GM – Winnipeg Jets

– Dustin Byfuglien’s weight increases by 2% every day of the off-season. The "pass" button automatically becomes another "shoot" button when playing as Byfuglien as well.

– For the first season, fans cheer no matter what happens on the ice. Attendance falls by 15% for every year after that, regardless of the team’s success or failure on the ice.

– UFA’s automatically demand 25% on top of initial offers.

– Don Wadell constantly calls with terrible trade suggestions.

– The season ends when the playoffs begin.





