NHL series NHL series refers to a series of video simulation games licensed by the National Hockey League and by its Players ' Association and developed by EA Canada . Features . ] NHL Hockey has NHL and NHLPA licenses , so player names and team logos are in use . The Free - 4 - All mini - game was introduced in " NHL 2005 , " letting gamers compete with each other by scoring goals on one goaltender , either in a certain time limit , or until someone scores a certain number of goals . With appropriate settings , defensemen can be incorporated into the game , making it more challenging . The NHL is not the only league in more recent games : A Nordic expansion of NHL 2001 was published by EA Sports Nordica introducing Finland ' s SM - Liiga and Sweden ' s Elitserien . Germany ' s Deutsche Eishockey Liga was introduced in 2004 and the two previous leagues made a return . The game has expanded to include the Czech Republic ' s Tipsport Extraliga in " " NHL 07 " " and in " " NHL 09 " " the Swiss NLA . Before " " NHL 07 , " " users could only use European teams for Exhibition and Season modes . Now , users can bring a European team into Dynasty mode . A revamped Create - a - Player feature is available after being taken out of " NHL 2005 . " Gone are the pre - modeled faces to choose from and in comes facial sculpting , inspired by that of the Tiger Woods PGA Tour videogames . Create - a - Team has remained the same . Players have the ability to recreate defunct or vintage teams , or start new ones with plenty of logos and jersey designs to choose from . The Hartford Whalers logo is not included due to the fact that the city of Hartford owns the team ' s rights and has prohibited the team ' s inclusion in the game . However , in " " NHL 2001 " " , there is a Hartford jersey selectable for Carolina in any modes . Create - a - Team is unavailable for the " NHL 07 " Xbox 360 game . A Shootout mode is introduced in " " NHL 07 , " " emulating a true - to - NHL shootout . It is used to get Xbox 360 players familiarized with the game ' s new Skill Stick , as well as a means to practice shooting . Users have the ability to turn shootout rules on or off . Note : Shootout options in actual games will always be on . International play . The World Cup of Hockey was a feature in " " NHL 2005 " " , coinciding with said event featuring authentic rosters and uniforms . It has been relabeled as " EA Sports ' World Tournament " from " " NHL 06 " " onward with non - licensed jerseys due to the lack of the IIHF license . Rosters for international teams in " NHL 06 " were based on the real rosters of the 2006 Winter Olympics . NHL 10 did not feature the Olympic rosters of the teams playing in the 2010 Winter Olympics upon release ; a later roster update corrected many national teams . Installments . EA has also produced 3 on 3 NHL Arcade and NHL Slapshot using the NHL license . Game covers . As is traditional with EA Sports , the NHL series boxes feature live action photos instead of drawings . As it lacked the NHLPA license , the early titles staged photos without real players . " NHLPA Hockey 93 " , on the other hand , had the rights to use player images , but not of the teams . On this cover , the main action photo features the New York Rangers ' Randy Moller checking the Philadelphia Flyers ' Rod Brind ' Amour while Rangers goaltender Mike Richter makes a save ( in this photo there is the logo of the New York Rangers located on the bottom right of the goaltender ' s pants ) . This photo is surrounded by eight small portraits of players ( Steve Yzerman , Andy Moog , Pat LaFontaine , Brian Leetch , Ray Bourque , Patrick Roy , Jeremy Roenick , and Rick Tocchet ) . This changed with " NHL 94 " , which featured a goal situation for Tomas Sandstrom ( LA Kings ) against Andy Moog ( Boston ) . " NHL 95 " featured an in - goal camera during a goal scored by Alexei Kovalev of the New York Rangers during the ' 94 Stanley Cup Finals against Kirk McLean of the Vancouver Canucks . " NHL 96 " featured New Jersey ' s Scott Stevens and Detroit ' s Steve Yzerman . Commentary . In NHLPA ' 93 and NHL ' 94 , Emmy award - winning sportscaster Ron Barr gives a pre - game scouting report prior to each game . In the Genesis version of NHL 95 , KNBR radio sportscaster John Shrader replaced Ron Barr in that duty . Live play - by - play commentary was introduced in " " NHL 97 " " . Jim Hughson , currently play - by - play man for CBC ' s " Hockey Night in Canada " and also one of Canada ' s best - known hockey announcers , provided the play - by - play for much of the series , excluding the Xbox 360 version of " NHL 07 " and the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of " NHL 08 " and " NHL 09 " ; which is provided by Gary Thorne . Color commentary is provided by Daryl Reaugh ( 1998 – 99 ) , Bill Clement ( 2000 , 2001 , and all Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions ) , Don Taylor ( 2002 – 03 ) , and Craig Simpson ( 2004 – . . . ) . Soundtracks . " " NHL ' 99 " " was the first game in the series to feature fully - licensed music from David Bowie . Since then , each game has had soundtracks of licensed music known as EA Sports Trax , with selections of punk , alternative , and rock music .