NHL 26 HUT Deep Dive

Hockey Ultimate Team in NHL 26 is taking its biggest leap forward in years. From solo play to ranked, from roster building to live content, this year’s HUT is more flexible, more structured, and more rewarding.

We’ve rebuilt core systems, added new ways to play, and reworked how live content connects across the hockey world. This Deep Dive blog will walk you through all the major updates, how they came together, and what they mean for you as a player.

Main Menu Refresh

The first thing you’ll notice is a brand-new main menu. The old layout could feel slow and cluttered, so we rebuilt it from the ground up.

The new design loads faster, takes fewer clicks, and surfaces the features you use most. Whether you are jumping into a game, managing your lineup, or checking rewards, the path is shorter and smoother.

We’ve also introduced personalized touches like featuring your top players on the home screen. And thanks to community feedback, the lineup screen from Wildcard has been integrated into Edit Lines, giving you a clearer view of your full team and chemistry.

Cup Chase

One of the most requested features from the community was a deeper offline experience. Enter Cup Chase.

Cup Chase is an 18-game season with playoffs at the end, complete with best-of-three rounds. Every win pushes you closer to the trophy, and every loss raises the stakes.

This isn’t just grinding through random CPU games. It is a connected season format where your progress and performance matter. There are no leaderboards and no waiting on weekly resets, just your own pace and your own rewards.

Cup Chase includes its own reward track, separate from the XP Path, so every step of the journey feels meaningful. Difficulty is up to you, making it flexible for casual and competitive offline players alike.

And best of all, your Cup Chase progress also feeds into the overall XP Path, so you are always moving forward.

Ranked

Competitive play in HUT now has a proper ladder system with the introduction of Ranked. The goal was to create a format that feels fair, consistent, and rewarding no matter how much you play.

Ranked is built around divisions that clearly show where you stand. The new matchmaking floors mean you will not lose an entire division once you’ve earned it, which takes away the frustration of dropping back down after a tough stretch of games. The climb is now about building forward, not recovering lost ground.

Every game you play contributes to rewards and progression. Division tiers are easier to track, and reward ladders show exactly what you are working toward. 

Reaching the Qualification Division unlocks HUT Champs, the most competitive stage in the mode. Champs is where the top players meet, with the toughest opponents and the most exclusive rewards. At the very top sits Ultimate Rank, which offers a season-specific jersey that proves you made it to the highest level that season.

At the end of each cycle, the ladder resets. This keeps the experience fresh and ensures that every season brings new rewards and new opportunities to climb again.

Team Building and Seasonal Structure

Building your roster in NHL 26 is about more than just collecting the highest overall cards. This year, we’ve introduced player combinations and a salary cap system to add depth and strategy to roster construction.

Combinations activate bonuses when you connect players in creative ways, whether by item type, nationality, or team links. These boosts can impact Ability Points, Salary Cap space, or their overall rating, rewarding smart lineup planning without locking you into one path.

The Salary Cap system adds an extra layer of roster management, encouraging balance and creativity instead of simply stacking stars.

All of this ties directly into Seasons, which are now the biggest content beats in HUT. Each season brings a wave of new cards, events, and objectives while keeping your existing progress intact. You don’t reset or lose what you’ve built. Seasons add on top of your lineup, opening new strategies and opportunities as the year unfolds.

Seasonal Programs

NHL 26’s content structure has been rebuilt for clarity and consistency. Four core programs, Captains, Heroes, Icons, and Rookies, anchor each season.

Captains give you a season leader from a curated pool of stars and fan favorites.

Heroes highlight the players who defined eras for their franchises.

Icons celebrate all-time legends and Hall of Famers.

Rookies spotlight breakout talent past and present.

Each program unfolds across multiple drops throughout the year, keeping them relevant beyond launch. Alumni items have also been reworked into their own card type, making them more valuable from day one.

This structure means less guesswork and more direction. You’ll always know what’s coming, how long programs last, and how they fit into your team strategy.

Early Access and Chel Weeks

The HUT season starts early with Fresh Ice, a limited-time Early Access event that kicks off before global launch. Fresh Ice includes objectives, Moments, and rewards designed to give your lineup a strong foundation. Deluxe Edition owners also receive a Fresh Ice player item to boost their roster right away.

Fresh Ice connects directly to a worldwide launch event that follows Early Access, so be sure to log-in and take advantage to get a leg up on the competition.

Alongside this, NHL 26 introduces Chel Weeks, a brand-new live content program. Each Chel Week delivers daily content drops over five days, built around a weekly theme. Expect a mix of buildable players, objectives, collections, Spotlight players, and even community votes that give you a say in the outcome.

The first Chel Week theme is Cult Superstars, spotlighting fan-favorite players known for grit and character rather than just stats.

Chel Weeks brings rhythm to live content, giving you a reason to check in daily and weekly as the season unfolds.

Looking Ahead

From Cup Chase to Ranked, from smarter team building to clearer seasonal programs, NHL 26 HUT is designed to reflect your feedback. This year is about giving you more clarity, more control, and more meaningful rewards no matter how you play.

We’ll continue to listen, adapt, and build on HUT throughout the year.

Thanks for being part of the community and helping shape what HUT has become. NHL 26 launches September 5th, see you out on the ice.