Too many serious glitches prevents to have an interresting experience, especially in HUT mode. Dont waste your money
First of all, if you play HUT, don't waste cash on buying players out there. You can easily beat an all-star team with some 3rd line junior guys. The game doesn't really take in consideration player stats and tends to meld everything in so that it becomes "enjoyable" for everyone.
So Grabner will skate about your own speed on an ice rink when you play against a bad team (Don't worry if you play against a good one, he suddenly gains his real rated speed... go figures why though). That is a main glitch but EA doesn't really care about people who plays... I've played hundreds of games out there on HUT. I was wondering if it was me... but after several tests, it's the game. Which is sad, especially since I had decided to play HUT this year (I even bought the Stanley cup edition)
The GM mode is now better with GM connected. Instead of trading to stupid AI, you trade to other humans, play games against humans, etc. It's fun. But this mode, as others, also have glitches. I will talk about them below.
Hitting.
Hitting in the game can be quite hard. So when you score a goal you can wander around the ice with the puck for the whole period, playing catch me if you can. But if you finally hit someone, he'll fall like he's falling down a mountain, turning around for several times.... quite weird.
Goalies.
I dunno if it's because EA crew in Vancouver sees too much Luongo, but honestly, they still have problems out there. The goalies can do miracles but more often will make you want to break your controller. On the other side, sometimes, goalies are like surrounded by a force field. No matter how hard you try, you wont score. an empty goal shot? it will hit the bar or head straight to the stands. This also happens to your own goalie from time to time. It might seems cool, but I just want it fair.
One timers
One-timer goals are almost impossible this year. Goalies do miracles if the player finally hits the puck (which doesn't happens quite often). But you can score coming out of the corner and heading toward the slot. Another glitch, players tend to swing in the air more often than a windmill. it's quite ridiculous.
If you really like hockey, buy the game (don't waste cash on NHL edition though. I did, and I regret it).
If you're just looking for sports, get something else. MLB the show is the one I recommend.