NHL 21 celebrates the most creative, inventive and fearless players in hockey. EA Vancouver's entry in the long-running series puts moves inspired by the league's great innovators on your stick, rebuilds Be A Pro around the conversations that shape a career, and rewards the kind of goals that end up on the highlight reel.
Be A Pro, Expanded and Redesigned
Be A Pro is where NHL 21 made its biggest changes. The career mode has been expanded and redesigned to make the journey toward the league's elite more immersive than ever, and it now runs on a dynamic conversation system. What you say shapes your relationship with the coaching staff, the endorsement deals that come your way and the salary you can command.
The choices reach beyond the front office, too. How you get along with teammates away from the rink carries into your chemistry on it, so the player you become depends on more than your stat line. That sense of authorship makes each season feel like your own story rather than a list of games to clear.
Play Like the Game's Innovators
NHL 21 is built around the idea that not all goals are created equal. The players who changed how hockey is played inspired a set of moves you can pull off yourself, and the game recognizes the creative plays that turn good players into great ones.
- The Michigan: scoop the puck onto your blade from behind the net and tuck it into the top corner lacrosse-style, the kind of goal that brings a crowd to its feet and earns a replay.
- Style that counts: highlight-reel plays are exactly what NHL 21 is designed to celebrate, so creative dekes and inventive finishes feel as rewarding as they look when they come off.
- Room to experiment: the move set rewards players willing to try the bold option over the safe one, turning every zone entry with a skilled forward into a chance to create something memorable.
Authentic NHL Hockey
As an officially licensed product of the National Hockey League, NHL 21 lets you pick teams from NHL rosters and play realistically depicted games from the opening faceoff to the final horn. The physical side of the sport is here as well: when tempers boil over, players can drop the gloves, and the camera shifts to isolate the two combatants until the fight is broken up.
Hockey With Friends at Home
- Single-Player
- Take on the AI in your own games or commit to a Be A Pro career, working your way toward the top of the league at your own pace without needing anyone else on the couch.
- Local Co-op
- Line up on the same side with two to six players in the room, splitting the roster between you and chasing the win together against the AI on one shared screen.
- Local Multiplayer
- Face off head to head with two to four players on one screen, where every chirp lands in person and the rivalry carries on long after the final horn sounds.
EA shut down NHL 21's online services on October 6, 2025, so Hockey Ultimate Team (including HUT Rush), World of CHEL and all online matches are no longer available. The offline modes remain available, which keeps Be A Pro and couch hockey on the ice.
If you love the creative side of hockey, NHL 21 is an invitation to play it your way. Lace up, talk your way into the lineup, and find out what kind of pro you become.
