Uploaded June 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago

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Since the days of Sega Genesis and Super NES, I've picked up an NHL title nearly every year. Back when there were multiple companies making the games, the chance of having the Penguins appear on a cover between Sega, EA, 2K, Midway, Virgin and others was usually pretty high.

Now that EA is really the only mainstream hockey game in town, I'd have thought the five time Stanley Cup winners would have graced the cover once in the past 15 years.

Well, apparently that's not the case:

NHL 03: Jarome Iginla
NHL 04: Joe Sakic
NHL 05: Markus Naslund
NHL 06: Vincent Lecavalier
NHL 07: Alexander Ovechkin
NHL 08: Eric Staal
NHL 09: Dion Phaneuf
NHL 10: Patrick Kane
NHL 11: Jonathan Toews
NHL 12: Steven Stamkos
NHL 13: Claude Giroux
NHL 14: Martin Brodeur
NHL 15: Patrice Bergeron
NHL 16: Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane
NHL 17: Vladimir Tarasenko
NHL 18: Connor McDavid

In a similar timeframe, the Chicago Blackhawks have won three Stanley Cup championships yet have had three athletes grace the cover.

So, what gives, EA?