EA SPORTS™ NHL 26
News Article

HUT Season 2 is now Live!

November 21, 2025

NHL 26 HUT SEASON 2

Welcome to Season 2 of NHL 26 HUT. This new season brings major lineup updates, a brand-new Combo Nexus event, and an all-new XP Path headlined by William Nylander.

Image showing a real-life shot of Toronto Maple Leafs player William Nylander alongside player cards of assorted players in NHL 26 HUT Season 2.

Click to enlarge

COMBO NEXUS

Season 2 opens with Combo Nexus, a new event built around synergy-driven player combinations.

Combo Nexus Players:

  • Dylan Larkin | F | Detroit Red Wings
  • Tage Thompson | F | Buffalo Sabres
  • Jake Guentzel | F | Tampa Bay Lightning
  • Noah Dobson | D | New York Islanders
  • Lane Hutson | D | Montreal Canadiens

Image showing a real-life shot of Montreal Canadiens player Noah Dobson alongside player cards of assorted players in NHL 26 HUT Season 2.

Click to enlarge

XP PATH

Season 2’s XP Path is led by William Nylander (91 OVR) of the Toronto Maple Leafs as this season’s chase player. Alongside Nylander, five Power Up players can be upgraded throughout the season, each unlocking new abilities as they progress from 84 to 89 OVR.

These players can be earned and upgraded using XP Season 2 Tokens collected through the XP Path. This season’s XP choices also align with our broader winter theme across HUT and World of Chel, which is why the spotlight falls on players from Toronto, Montreal, and Detroit.

XP Chase Player:

  • William Nylander | RHF | Toronto Maple Leafs | 91 OVR

XP Power Up Players (84 → 89 OVR):

  • Chris Tanev | RHD | Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Samuel Montembeault | G | Montreal Canadiens
  • Juraj Slafkovsky | LHF | Montreal Canadiens
  • Lucas Raymond | RHF | Detroit Red Wings
  • Simon Edvinsson | LHD | Detroit Red Wings

XP Milestone Objective Players:

  • Nick Robertson | Toronto Maple Leafs | 88 OVR
  • Kirby Dach | Montreal Canadiens | 88 OVR
  • JT Compher | Detroit Red Wings | 88 OVR

These milestone players can be earned through Season 2 XP objectives

CAPTAINS

Season 2 introduces a new class of Captains featuring updated Eastern and Western conference Captain Chemistry.

Tier 1 Starter Captains (85 OVR):

  • Dmitry Orlov | D | Western Conference
  • Neal Pionk | D | Western Conference
  • Oliver Bjorkstrand | F | Eastern Conference
  • Sean Couturier | F | Metropolitan Division

Tier 2 Chase Captains (88 OVR)

  • Tomas Hertl | F | Western Conference
  • Cam Fowler | D | Western Conference
  • Alex Tuch | F | Eastern Conference
  • John Carlson | D | Eastern Conference

Promo graphic showing HUT Captains player cards in red, blue, and teal themes beside a large action photo of a hockey player with bold text ‘CAPTAINS.

Click to enlarge

PWHL Chase Captains (88 OVR)

  • Megan Keller | D | PWHL Boston
  • Micah Zandee-Hart | D | PWHL Montreal
  • Hilary Knight | F | PWHL Boston
  • Sarah Nurse | F | PWHL Toronto
  • Marie-Philip Poulin | F | PWHL Montreal
  • Blayre Turnbull | F | PWHL Ottawa
  • Brianne Jenner | F | PWHL Ottawa
  • Kendall Coyne Schofield | F | PWHL Minnesota

HUT Captains promo featuring multiple women’s hockey player cards arranged in rows beside a large close-up and action image of a skater with bold ‘CAPTAINS’ text.

Click to enlarge

HEROES

A new group of Heroes joins HUT in Season 2.

Heroes (88 OVR):

  • Mark Recchi | F | Pittsburgh Penguins
  • Niklas Kronwall | D | Detroit Red Wings
  • Evgeni Nabokov | G | San Jose Sharks

HUT Heroes promo featuring three illustrated player cards on a blue textured background with a large stylized goalie illustration and the title ‘HEROES.’

Click to enlarge

ICONS

Three hockey legends headline the Season 2 Icons program, each available through Alumni sets.

Icons (89 OVR):

  • Wayne Gretzky | F | Edmonton Oilers
  • Ray Bourque | D | Boston Bruins
  • Patrick Roy | G | Montreal Canadiens

HUT Icons promo with three classic-era player cards on a marble background beside a large portrait of a smiling hockey player and gold ‘ICONS’ text.

Click to enlarge

ROOKIES

Season 2 continues to celebrate breakout rookies and rising stars with new Rookies content available through sets.

Rookies (88 OVR):

  • John Tavares | F | New York Islanders
  • Phil Housley | D | Buffalo Sabres
  • Darcy Kuemper | G | Minnesota Wild

HUT Rookies promo showing three rookie-themed player cards on a white textured background next to a large action image of a skater with the ‘ROOKIES’ logo.

Click to enlarge

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Here’s a quick recap of other details on what to expect from our Season 2 Prep Blog:

Line Combinations

New Player Combinations replace the Season 1 set.

AP Limit and Salary Cap increases give you more room to build.

Captains

A new rotation of Season 2 Captains arrives with updated combinations.

You’ll get a free Season 2 Captain choice pack at launch.

Season 1 Captains remain usable but no longer provide Captain chemistry.

Ranked

Progression has been smoothed with new objectives and Ranked Collectibles.

Collectible sets now offer upgraded pack and player rewards.

More Ranked tiers and improved rewards throughout the ladder.

Win-streak bonuses arrive in early December.

Some divisions now let you carry progress forward when ranking up or down.

HUT Champs & Cup Chase

Both feature new Season 2 Collectibles and refreshed reward paths.

Season 1 sets stay open, so nothing you earned is lost.

Moments

New Season 2 HUT Moments tie into upcoming programs and reward new Moments Collectibles.