NHL 26 Hockey Ultimate Team Guide: How to Build the Best HUT Team

NHL 26 introduces some of the most significant changes to Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) that the franchise has seen in years. The focus this season is on how you actually construct your team, how line combinations grant powerful bonuses, and how to efficiently grind the new and returning game modes. Whether you are a completely new player to HUT or a veteran who has been building squads for a decade, this guide will walk you through every step. By the end, you will know how to set up your first roster, which captain is the best choice, how to use line combinations properly, and which game modes and sets deserve your attention first.

NHL 26 Hockey Ultimate Team Guide How to Build the Best HUT Team

Setting Up Your First Team

When you boot NHL 26 for the first time, the game will ask you to select your favorite NHL team. This choice determines your home and away jerseys, your team logo, and a single 78 overall player card that will be added to your starter lineup. Do not worry too much about this decision, as you will replace that player very quickly. If you accidentally pick the wrong favorite team, you can go into the main menu, head to Settings, and change your favorite before entering HUT.

NHL 26 Hockey Ultimate Team Guide How to Build the Best HUT Team

After this, you will create your team name and abbreviation. Once that is done, you will be given your first major choice: opening the Captain’s Pack. Unlike previous years, there is no full starter pack with a ready-made lineup. Instead, you immediately choose a captain card that comes with division-based synergy bonuses. This choice will influence your build path during Season 1.

Choosing Your Captain

The Captains Pack gives you one of four options. Each captain provides a division-based synergy bonus if you build around their conference.

NHL 26 Hockey Ultimate Team Guide How to Build the Best HUT Team

Here is a breakdown of the four Season 1 captains:

Mackenzie Weegar emerges as the strongest all-around choice with elite speed and defensive stats, while Patrik Laine offers the best offensive upside for forward-heavy builds.

The New Roster System

Once you have picked your captain, you will notice that your roster is made up of weak starter pack players. These cards are significantly lower rated than their normal versions and are designed to be replaced almost immediately. Do not spend time trying to optimize these filler players. Within a day of play, you will have better options through objectives, rewards, and events.

Line Combination System

The biggest new feature in NHL 26 HUT is the line combination system. By assembling specific player types or nationalities on the same line, you can unlock boosts that directly increase stats. These boosts fall into three categories: Overall rating boosts, Salary Cap adjustments, and Ability Point bonuses.

NHL 26 Hockey Ultimate Team Guide How to Build the Best HUT Team

Overall Rating Boosts

If you put three Anaheim Ducks players on a line, for example, those players will all receive a +2 overall rating boost. This applies to all attributes, including speed and acceleration. That makes these boosts especially powerful compared to previous years, where overall boosts gave very small skating increases. Even a +1 overall boost will noticeably increase speed and acceleration, so it is worth building lines that trigger these combos.

Salary Cap Boosts

Some line combinations reduce the salary cap hit of your team. For example, fielding three Swedish players on a line can give you an additional two million in salary cap room. This may not seem necessary early when the cap sits at one hundred million, but later in the year when cards become more expensive, these boosts will be essential.

Ability Point Boosts

Ability Points (AP) are used to activate player abilities. Early on, you will have very few ability points available, usually under ten. Forming the right line combination, such as three Canadian players on a line, can give you bonus ability points. This can allow you to activate an extra gold or silver ability, which can change games.

Rules of the System

Understanding these restrictions prevents costly mistakes:

• One combination per team: You cannot stack multiple lines with the same boost
• Any position order: A combination works regardless of left wing, center, or right wing placement
• Goalie tandems matter: Two goalies from the same team receive +2 overall to all stats
• Seasonal rotation: Combinations reset completely each season, making long-term investments risky

Managing Your Lineup

The new lineup management screen is much cleaner. You can swap players quickly with a single button, cycle between power play, penalty kill, and 3v3 lines with the triggers, and even save and load entire lineups without leaving the screen. Team Identity settings for jerseys, logos, and arenas are also located in the same tab.

The quality-of-life improvements remove unnecessary clicks and make lineup management faster, which is helpful when you are experimenting with line combinations.

Game Modes in NHL 26 HUT

There are four major game modes that provide rewards and progression. Each serves a different purpose in your grind.

NHL 26 Hockey Ultimate Team Guide How to Build the Best HUT Team

Cup Chase

Cup Chase replaces Squad Battles. It is a ten-team offline league where you play an 18-game season followed by two playoff rounds. Going undefeated provides the best rewards. This mode is repeatable, unlike Squad Battles, so offline players can grind endlessly at their own pace. Start Cup Chase on the highest difficulty you can consistently sweep. Do not jump to Superstar too early, because your weak starter roster will struggle against AI goalies.

Competitive (Ranked)

This mode replaces Rivals. You begin in Bronze 1, and each win fills a box toward the next rank. Losing does not demote you. Rewards are immediate, and progress continues until the end of the season. Matchmaking pairs you with players in the same rank tier, and there is now a cross-console leaderboard. Ranked is the best way to test your skill level and gradually work toward higher-tier rewards.

Wildcard

Wildcard is the draft-under-cap mode introduced in NHL 25. You draft a lineup that fits under the salary cap and play against others or the CPU. This mode is useful for trying out event Master Set cards before crafting them. Rewards are mostly event collectibles. Even if you are hesitant about online play, Wildcard online games give competitive points similar to winning against AI, so it is worth jumping in.

HUT Moments

Moments are short scenarios with specific objectives, such as scoring goals or making defensive plays. They offer XP, coins, and collectibles. Complete Moments early, as they are an efficient way to progress through the XP path and event objectives. Training Camp Moments are essentially tutorials, while Division Moments scale up in difficulty.

XP Path and Objectives

The XP Path returns from NHL 25. By earning XP across modes, you climb tiers for packs, coins, and player rewards. Reaching tier 15 in early access grants an 83 overall Alumni card, which is valuable for crafting Icons later.

Objectives are divided into daily tasks, XP milestones, event-specific challenges, and passive milestones. Daily objectives should be completed every session, as they grant both XP and a small pack. Event objectives are critical for collecting the items needed to build Master Set cards. Many objectives can be completed in Moments, which makes them faster to finish.

NHL 26 Hockey Ultimate Team Guide How to Build the Best HUT Team

Sets and the Card Economy

Sets are the backbone of NHL 26’s content system. There are several categories:

1. Exchange Sets - allow you to trade in lower-rated cards for higher ones. They are useful for funneling duplicates upward but should be used carefully. Save specific ratings for event crafting when possible.
2. Captain Sets -let you craft the captain you did not choose at the start. They are expensive, so only pursue them if necessary.
3. Heroes - are seasonal alumni-based cards. They require five 81–83 overall Alumni items to craft. Alumni cards are rare and valuable early, so hold onto them.
4. Icons - are high-end seasonal cards like Chris Chelios or Joe Thornton. They require five 83–85 Alumni items and are extremely expensive. No-money-spent players should plan long-term to work toward one.
5. Event Sets - rotate with each event. For the first event, Fresh Ice, you can craft 84 overall Master Set players such as Matthew Tkachuk. The process requires upgrading event cards step by step from 77 overall up to 81–83, then combining them.

Event collectibles are the key resource. You get them from Wildcard, objectives, and daily packs. Always save them for the repeatable set that creates 81 overall Fresh Ice players, since these are required to build Masters.

Auction House and Collection Tips

Navigate the market efficiently using these techniques:

• Use Triangle to access detailed filters
• Click specific cards and select Compare Price to view all listings
• Focus on alumni cards 79+ overall for hero/icon set investments
• Monitor Fresh Ice collectible prices for event planning

Access your complete card database through My Team > My Collection. Use Triangle to filter by cards you own, and Right Stick to examine detailed card information and stats.

What To Do on First Day

On your first day, select your captain, complete Training Camp and Event Moments, and begin a Cup Chase run on a safe difficulty. Collect your daily event pack and start working on objectives. By the end of the first week, you should aim to craft one Fresh Ice Master Set card, reach tier 11 or higher on the XP path, and establish at least one line combination that boosts either speed or ability points.