EA Sports' NHL 17 released on Tuesday and people are talking about the new and improved Franchise mode. In that mode, the player will take over the day-to-day operations of their favorite hockey team and attempt to build that franchise into a Stanley Cup winner. But what if you don’t want to take your New York Rangers all the way to Lord Stanley’s cup because it may be too easy?
Many sports gamers like to take a down and out franchise with no hope and bring them to glory. Will your shrewd trade for a high priced right winger result in a playoff berth or will your owner fire you because the move didn’t work? This article will examine four underdog teams that you can build into champions. Here’s a disclaimer: if you pick one of these teams, you may not win very much early on, so do not just restart the mode and give up. It’s about commitment when picking a lesser team. Let’s start with a team with a brand new arena and high hopes.
Edmonton Oilers, 2015-2016 Record: 31-43-8, 70 Points
The opening of Rogers Place gives the Oilers a first-class facility for their young team. This team is first on the list because they are one of those teams that has a ton of youth but also a ton of talent to go with that youth. The Oilers surprisingly traded Taylor Hall in the off-season, but in return they received Adam Larsson to help with their porous defense. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid are the young guns that will lead this squad, along with veterans Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle. This will be a fun team to play with for multiple seasons in NHL 17.
New Jersey Devils: 2015-2016 Record 38-36-8, 84 Points
Being in the strong Metropolitan Division is a detriment to the Devils, who began their rebuilding effort a couple of years ago. Trading for Taylor Hall during the off-season was a major move and with young talent like Kyle Palmieri and Adam Henrique leading the way, the Devils may become a playoff team sooner than later. If you decide to select the Devils, you may also hear one of the best goal songs in the league. Just don’t play starting goalie Cory Schneider too much like the real-life Devils personnel does.
Buffalo Sabres: 2015-2016 Record 35-36-11, 81 Points
Jack Eichel or Connor McDavid? Which of the top two picks of the 2015 NHL Draft is the better player has been the burning question for a year. For Buffalo, they have Eichel and he didn't disappoint as he scored 24 goals and accumulated 56 points in his rookie season. The Sabres also made a splash in free agency signing Kyle Okposo from the New York Islanders and traded for defenseman Dmitry Kulikov during the off-season. Goaltending is a little dicey but you can definitely sign or trade for one in your Franchise mode.
Arizona Coyotes: 2015-2016 Record 35-39-8, 78 Points
This is an interesting team. Arizona, which seemed destined to move every year for the last five years, always seem to be on the verge of breaking through and then nothing happens. Captain Shane Doan has played forever and while he is the major name on the team, there’s really nothing else on this team to work with. This is where a ton of work on your part will be needed to make this team competitive in the Western Conference and let’s be honest, that’s what Franchise players want right? Or you could just move them out of Arizona to the many cities that are available in NHL 17 and really start from scratch.
