Be prepared for the new NHL season with NHL GameCenter
The 2014-2015 National Hockey League season begins in less than a week. One of the best ways to stay up to date with all the news and scores is with NHL GameCenter. This free universal app requires iOS 5.0 or later to run.
NHL Game Center is really a multi-level app. The app itself is free and offers just about all the essential information a user will need to follow his or her favorite team and the NHL in general. You will find schedules, scores, stats, news, standings, league leaders, and even a place to buy merchandise to support your favorite team. Additionally you can get live audio feeds of every NHL game plus live video of those same games but each of those require an annual subscription. More on those in a minute.
Users will find a team page for each of the NHL clubs. On this page you can get info on schedules, where to buy tickets, the current roster, latest team stats, plus access to the team fan gear. The roster page shows all of the current players and allows users to go into detail on each player with another individual page listing background information, how the player did in his last five games plus season and career statistics.
The league leaders page breaks out eight stats, four for offensive players and four for goaltenders. You will see who has the most points, goal, assists, and the highest plus/minus ratings. The goaltenders stats include wins, goals against average, shutouts, and save percentage. In each stat area, head shots of the top two leaders are shown. Plus a simple tap in any of the eight sections brings up a list with the Top-30 players in that specific area.
Users will find loads of useful information in NHL-Game Center. You can also access a video archive full of league videos broken into a number of areas including Glorious Goals, Super Saves, A Day with the Stanley Cup, Classic Bloopers, Funny Fans and more. All of these videos are free but are preceded by a 15-second commercial announcement. However, if you want live coverage of games you need to buy an annual subscription.
The NHL sells a live video subscription for US$159 that gives users access to live game coverage from both the home and away teams, DVR functions, and game replays. Users of NHL GameCenter won't receive all of the games. Any national broadcast or game shown on TV locally will be blacked out. You can also purchase NHL GameCenter Premium for US$9.99 and gain access to live radio broadcasts of the games plus in-game highlights. Similar blackout rules are in effect. Verizon customers with smart phone LTE service can get the Premium content free of charge.
I believe the NHL GameCenter app is worth downloading just to access the free information and videos available to users. If you are really a fan and want access to all the out of market games on your phone or iPad, then buy one of the paid subscriptions.
