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. For Buffalo, they have Eichel and he didn't disappoint as he scored 24 goals and accumulated 56 points in his rookie season. 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. Just don’t play starting goalie Cory Schneider too much like the real-life Devils personnel does.īuffalo Sabres: 2015-2016 Record 35-36-11, 81 Points If you decide to select the Devils, you may also hear one of the best goal songs in the league. 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. New Jersey Devils: 2015-2016 Record 38-36-8, 84 Pointsīeing in the strong Metropolitan Division is a detriment to the Devils, who began their rebuilding effort a couple of years ago. This will be a fun team to play with for multiple seasons in NHL 17. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid are the young guns that will lead this squad, along with veterans Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle. The Oilers surprisingly traded Taylor Hall in the off-season, but in return they received Adam Larsson to help with their porous defense. 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 opening of Rogers Place gives the Oilers a first-class facility for their young team. Let’s start with a team with a brand new arena and high hopes.Įdmonton Oilers, 2015-2016 Record: 31-43-8, 70 Points It’s about commitment when picking a lesser team. 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. 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. Many sports gamers like to take a down and out franchise with no hope and bring them to glory. 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? 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. EA Sports' NHL 17released on Tuesday and people are talking about the new and improved Franchise mode.