EA Sports’ NHL 27 Ratings Show a Softer Side for Calgary’s Forward Group

EA Sports has begun unveiling player ratings for NHL 27, and the early look at the forward rankings suggests the Calgary Flames are being treated as a team still in the middle of a rebuild. In the game’s forward list, only three Calgary forwards were included among the top 299 players featured by the program, and just three Flames forwards reached ratings of 84 or higher.

The way EA divides attention across teams can matter beyond entertainment. The NHL community has long treated these ratings as a shorthand for who is expected to drive offense in the coming season, even if the numbers are not meant to function as an official projection of real-world performance. In this case, EA’s selection implies that, at least in the game’s view, Calgary’s highest-end scoring influence among forwards is comparatively limited.

According to the Yahoo Sports report, the “little love” theme comes through most clearly in the threshold EA highlighted for Calgary. In a set that includes hundreds of forwards across the league, only three players associated with the Flames’ forward group appear in the higher tier of ratings listed at 84-plus. That means most Calgary forwards included in the broader set are projected by EA to sit below that cut line.

The timing also matters. NHL 27 is scheduled for release on September 11, and the ratings reveal is part of EA’s pre-launch rollout. These early numbers are often what fans remember most as rosters and ratings get discussed on social media, particularly for teams that are trying to reset expectations and rebuild depth.

For Calgary, the broader storyline is that player ratings in a major franchise game can become a proxy for public perception. When a team’s star power is portrayed as less concentrated, it can shift fan attention toward younger players, line combinations, and the internal competition that typically defines a rebuilding stretch.

Still, it is important to separate a video-game portrayal from hockey reality. Ratings are built from a mix of player history, reputation, and how EA chooses to model skill attributes. Without official, verified player-by-player detail in the report itself, it is not possible to confirm which specific Flames forwards correspond to those top three spots or exactly how each rating was derived.

What to watch next is whether EA’s subsequent installments for other position groups, and the final consolidated ratings closer to release, reinforce the same message or expand Calgary’s representation. Fans will also likely watch whether the Flames’ forward ratings rebound in later reveals, which can happen as EA works through different categories and updates the full picture for NHL 27’s final roster set.