EA Sports’ newest installment of the NHL franchise officially comes out Sept. 13, or Sept. 10 for those who pre-ordered it, but fans are offered a sneak peak at the game with the EA Access 10-hour trial.
A new feature to this year’s game, “NHL 20,” is the addition of all-time teams for 30 of the 31 currently active teams — excluding the Golden Knights — and some defunct teams like the Hartford Whalers. The Blackhawks alumni team has a few glaring omissions, but none more notable than Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, who holds the franchise record in goals (604), is second in points (1,153), fifth in assists (549) and skated in more than 1,000 games for Chicago. The 1961 Stanley Cup champion also won the Hart Trophy twice as league MVP and Art Ross Trophy three times as the league’s top scorer.
The omission could be as simple as not having the rights to use Hull’s likeness as Jay Zawaski of 670 The Score notes. It’s unknown whether EA Sports intentionally didn’t acquire the rights based on Hull’s history of abuse and racist views and the public backlash the league and the team have received for including him in notable events.
They aren’t “all time” teams. They’re alumni teams limited to the players whose rights they can secure. I’m not sure how that works, because Amonte and B. Hull have been in the game before but aren’t now. The silver lining there is Steve Konroyd manning the Whalers blue line. https://t.co/dtNzcWx34m
— Jay Zawaski (@JayZawaski670) September 5, 2019
Blackhawks alumni team
Adrian Aucoin, Adam Burish, Ed Belfour, Mark Bell, Keith Brown, Brian Campbell, Keith Carney, Chris Chelios, Jim Cummins, Tony Esposito, Doug Gilmour, Michel Goulet, Stu Grimson, Michal Handzus, Phil Housley, Dennis Hull, Cliff Koroll, Bryan Marchment, Steve Larmer, Jocelyn Lemieux, John Marks, Stan Mikita, Troy Murray, Bob Murray, Ed Olczyk, Bob Probert, Jeremy Roenick, Phil Russell, Tuomo Ruutu, Denis Savard, Gary Smith, Brent Sutter, Steve Thomas