Edit: This game is absolutely terrible.
Firstly, while I once claimed this game was just an expensive roster update, it fails to do even that. The rosters aren't even a little bit up to date- did EA bother to check with the teams to see who would be playing this year? I went to the EA forums, spoke with customer support, and asked them how to get the roster update. They told me how. I tried, and there was no option to download or find it using their methods. I posted on the forum, and a few users laughed and said the only updates that EA would point to were unofficial updates done by people who just modded their own games and shared it with others.
Imagine that...EA releases an out-of-date game, and for patches, they refer you to random websites where unpaid average joes spend their own time covering EA's butt. Props to them, the mods truly are impressive, but that's like me selling you a car and saying, oh hey, I'm not going to include tires. You'll have to find a way to get this guy to your house; maybe someone will come along for free and give you a lift.
Secondly, this game is absolutely recycled. The announcers commentary hasn't changed. Did a player get traded to your team last season? They may or may not be wearing their old jersey in their profile picture. Did the announcers mispronounce a player's name in NHL 08? That won't change with this game. Oh, but they have PRO MODE! Which is also really dumb and terrible.
For proof of this, try to trade a draft pick to a team, but scroll over to the left from the main player selection. When you get to the draft picks, it won't let you trade them, unless you scroll further left, and then scroll right again to get to the draft picks page. JUST LIKE NHL 08!
Personally, I've found frustration with the lack of a logical system with the gameplay. I do dynasty mode, and after the first 15 games, I just started to sim all the way up to the third period and play a few quick minutes. When you do this, your goalies become just laughable- doesn't matter what level the AI is set to. Brodeur, Kiprisoff, Fleury, and Legace all had the same stats- about an .80 save average and roughly 3.00 GAA. Some games they'd save 2 out of every 3 shots.
All in all, don't buy this game. If you're holding this game in your hands and you aren't in a store, it is basically a telegram from EA saying, "We just screwed you." I can't imagine it cost them more than a few thousand dollars to just change the menus, toggle around a couple players, and put it to disk.