On Tuesday, the NHL announced a blockbuster TV rights deal with Turner, but this new agreement will have no bearing on EA's NHL franchise, at least not for current or past games. A spokesperson for EA Sports told GameSpot that NHL 21 and any past games are not impacted by the new rights deal with Turner. Whether or not EA is planning any changes for this year's inevitable NHL 22 remains to be seen, however.

"We're excited for our partners at the NHL on their new deal with Turner Sports but today's news doesn't impact EA Sports NHL 21 or any past games of the franchise. We look forward to sharing details on the next iteration of the EA Sports NHL franchise at a later date."

We have followed up with EA in an attempt to gain some insight on what could happen for NHL 22, though it's unlikely the company will comment given the game hasn't been officially announced yet. The company subsequently declined to comment further.