Presentation in NHL is a bit of a mixed bag. The usual array of options are available to the user such as the Play Now mode, which is a no frills just play mode; Playoff mode, which eliminates the need to play through a season should you feel the need not to play 82 games; International mode, which has teams from around the world. No sports game would be complete without a Franchise mode, and this is where NHL shines.

The Franchise mode gives the user the ability to trade players with other teams or hire rookies and see if they have what it takes to span a 10 year career. You can even create your own player and choose his own skills, height, weight etc which can add a lot of depth to your teams career. The downside with the presentation is the options which seem to be scattered. Those options are also not saved after each game so should the player choose to carry on their career they will need to change them all again. It can become a bit tedious and frustrating should you forget. The same can be said for the custom rosters as they too need to be loaded when a career is carried on.

During the game there are tasks which can be met that give the player points to spend on "NHL Cards". These cards give the player abilities to use during the game which can either boost certain players skills, or reduce them depending on if the player is on your team or not. Some of the cards also open up "Easter Eggs" like big head mode or mile wide stadium -- purely added for fun to extend the life of the game and create a laugh in multi player mode. The tasks required can range from winning one face off, scoring a hat trick of goals with the same player to beating Canada with Japan (No easy feat), or a player reaching 1000 assists on goal. There certainly is a lot of depth should you play through multiple seasons.