NHL 2004, developed by the EA Black Box studios, added 3 European Elite Leagues - Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Sweden's Elitserien and Finland's SM-liiga. This is not the first time that European teams are included in an EA game; EA released both Elitserien 95 and Elitserien 96 for the Mega Drive in Sweden only and Elitserien and SM-liiga 2001 as an expansion pack for PC in Sweden and Finland which included those teams. The game included many improvements to its gameplay (more realistic puck and rebound control and better checking) and game modes (a completely reworked franchise mode renamed "Dynasty").

In addition to the gameplay improvements, one particular non-gameplay improvement was added. When a team wins the Stanley Cup Finals, a large-scale celebration ensues. It included players skating around the ice holding the Cup over their heads. Another new feature of NHL 2004 was allowing the player to select when to fight, where previously it had been a somewhat random occurrence. When two players' names flashed onto the bottom of the screen, accompanied by the word "Fight!" and a bell sounding, the person playing the game could push a button to begin a fight, or hold off until a later time.

Cheat: Create Bonus Players

Create a player using one of the following names of members of the band Alien Ant Farm: Terence Corso, Mike Cosgrove, Dryden Mitchell, or Tye Zamora. The game will adjust the players' face and statistics automatically to match that band member.

Create a player using one of the following names of members of the band Gob: Theo Gobzinakis, Gabe Metal, Gob Stomper, Tom Whacker, Pat Wolfman, or Craig Would. The game will adjust the players' face and statistics automatically to match that band member.

Look at the credits screen in the game and choose any name from the EA development team. Enter that name at the create player option. The game will tell you that it has this player in its database and automatically adjusts the stats and appearance accordingly:

Armes, Rory
Richards, Dean
Tang, Pin
Warfield, Dave

Some highlights from the neat NHL 2004 fights: