The classic motto for EA Sports was "if it's in the game, it's in the game."
Head coaches in the NHL? Very much in the game, standing behind the bench every night while orchestrating the controlled chaos of hockey. But unlike their counterparts in the NFL, who have been a part of the Madden series over the last 20 years, NHL head coaches weren't in EA Sports' hockey games.
That changes with NHL 25. After years of fans requesting their addition, current NHL coaches are now a part of team rosters after a recent patch to the game.
The game now features likenesses for the head coaches of all 32 NHL teams, as well as historical data for each coach and their statistical histories -- including championships or coach of the year awards they've won.
All 32 coaches' unique personalities & strategies have been added to #NHL25 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tpuO4PLaQS
— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) November 4, 2024
Each coach's actual team history and record will be shown in-game and will update based on future teams that they may sign with, as well as results within franchise mode. There's also coach salary information and years left on their contract.
The coaches will each have attributes graded out in the game, ranging from offense and defense to "teaching" and "coach influence." Their approach to the game is broken down into their preferred team strategies. For example, Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis has his team playing a "1-2-2 aggressive" forecheck and plays a "collapsing" defensive style.
"These traits will be important distinctions between how teams play and develop," said EA Sports in its announcement.
The coaches will have their own "traits and unique styles" drawn from their reputations in the NHL.
Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella's teams play with physicality. Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube is known as a "generalist" who "will help develop and grow all players on your team ... in combination with a coach's teaching attribute, this will help dictate whether or not a player can go up or down in potential."
All of this brings an added bit of realism to a game that already strived for it, but we're left wanting more.
We need head coaches jawing nastily at on-ice officials for favoring the home team. We need contentious scrums where coaches tell the media how much smarter they are than the "so-called experts."
We need Paul Maurice Mode, in which the Stanley Cup winning Florida Panthers coach gives a 25-minute answer to a question about a lineup change with references to the Hartford Whalers, a dozen self-deprecating jokes and an ode to using profanity to effectively communicate with his players.
Hey, if it's in the game, it's gotta be in the game.