NHL 21 will be released on October 16th, 2020. Might be disappointing to some, but hockey fans of today will probably be stoked. So it's a modern-day roster in an old-school format. Those of you hoping to play as the Quebec Nordiques or the Hartford Whalers are out of luck as those teams have been replaced with their modern-day counterparts (the Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche, respectfully), and all of the modern teams that have been added after are included in the mix.

While this is cool to see, there are a couple of drawbacks. A look at a faceoff on the Blackhawks rink in NHL 94, courtesy of EA Sports. You can see how the game looks here and in a couple of videos below as the controls are matched up to modern-day consoles. EA SPORTS NHL on Twitter: New NHL20 Roster Update is now live Twitter.

This game will be available as an incentive through October 16th, giving you two weeks' time to pre-order the game and snag the free download. Well, EA Sports is bringing the game back as they revealed today that the retro hockey title is now available as a pre-order bonus for NHL 21 on modern-day consoles.

Download ea nhl 21 for free