NHL 18 Expansion Draft First Look – Can You Build A Playoff Team In One Season?

With the Las Vegas Golden Knights joining the NHL as the 31st franchise this year, the league currently sits as an odd number. Commissioner Gary Bettman has already entertained the addition of a second expansion team in the near future, which is likely why EA Sports was allowed to give users the ability to add the 32nd franchise in NHL 18.

During an event at EA HQ, we got our first glimpse at how franchise mode handles adding new teams to the league. You can only add the 32nd team at the beginning of a new franchise mode, which means you have to pick from the leftovers remaining in the aftermath of the Golden Knights' expansion draft. Picking second for every position obviously puts the 32nd franchise at an extreme disadvantage, but I looked at the experience like a challenge. Could I draft a team that could compete for a playoff spot out of the gate? Watch this video to find out if I had what it takes to put a winner on the ice:

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NHL 18 comes to PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on September 15. To learn more about the game, watch us discuss the recent open beta and read our 60 Things We Know About NHL 18 article.