Be a Pro’s handling of Free Agency has been a long-standing complaint from the NHL community for years. Once the series revamped Be a Pro and leaned heavier into RPG elements with dialogue choices to help with immersion, the distaste some players felt has become more pronounced, as Free Agency has ironically given you little agency over contract offers. Does Free Agency return in NHL 22, and does it function the same way?
Related: NHL 22: Can you request a trade in Be a Pro?
The feature does indeed return and will be immediately familiar to returning players, as it unfortunately is the same system from the last few games. After your Be a Pro character’s contract has expired, you’ll be presented with offers from a choice of two teams. You can’t approach other teams yourself and regardless of how well you play, it seems there aren’t many teams that are interested in signing you. You’re also unable to negotiate any details of your contract.
Free Agency will most likely be a point of contention in the NHL community once again this year because of how basic and rigid the feature is, especially for those who want as true of a hockey simulation as possible. That said, if you’re uninterested in the nitty gritty details of contracts and just want to press forward in your career, the simplicity likely won’t be much of an issue.
