NHL has become a very good title.
I would have to say, as a NHL game player since NHLPA 93 on Sega, that it's overrated but still decent.
NHL has goofy ass flaws and glitches with goal scoring. Everything from poking through the back of the net at loose pucks, curve shots and other goalie AI abuse, CPU AI that destroys both the decent offline modes both on and off the ice (insane player trading and idiotic teammates)....
It really has a boatload of issues but the NHL player base is about 15% of the size of the Madden player base... so you don't hear about the issues as often.
It's 6v6 online mode certainly brings more fun to the table than everything seen in a game like Madden, but I personally wouldn't call it "very good".
I don't get this shit tho, there's plenty of video games out there with bugs/glitches that don't really have much effect on your enjoyment from the game....and that's fine. No software is truly going to be perfect.
But EA Sports games are LOADED with bugs that completely render their lauded modes USELESS by destroying all the fun.
It's pretty awesome in NHL's Be A Pro when your rookie season ends and every single superstar in the league has been traded somewhere else amongst the other 150+ players dealt. Ridiculous.
EA might have acquired some better rating scores by simply buying developers who do make quality games, but their existing development still fucking sucks when it comes to quality and overall polish.