Back in the day, we had multiple franchises for most sports games. It was an all-out war between EA and 2K in the early 2000s for the sports fan’s hard-earned cash. In 2003, it was the first year I remember really considering a competitor to the NHL series after being a die-hard fan of EA’s NHL series practically my entire life. 2K had a fantastic offering with ESPN NHL Hockey going up against NHL 2004. I played a ton of both games that year, but I really appreciated the details of the 2K game with the full ESPN license and jingles. That’s why I decided to play through an ESPN NHL Hockey Franchise Mode. It’s time to fill that Skybox with trophies.
We’ll use a 40-game season so we can roll through the years a bit quicker.
ESPN NHL Hockey Franchise Mode Season 1
- Toronto Maple Leafs @ Pittsburgh Penguins
- Pittsburgh Penguins @ Toronto Maple Leafs
- Phoenix Coyotes @ Toronto Maple Leafs
- Toronto Maple Leafs @ New York Rangers
- Florida Panthers @ Toronto Maple Leafs
- New York Rangers @ Toronto Maple Leafs
- Atlanta Thrashers @ Toronto Maple Leafs
- Toronto Maple Leafs @ Dallas Stars
- Tampa Bay Lightning @ Toronto Maple Leafs
- Los Angeles Kings @ Toronto Maple Leafs
- Detroit Red Wings @ Toronto Maple Leafs
- Boston Bruins @ Toronto Maple Leafs
