NHL.com Changes

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I voted yes based on what i'd seen on my ipad. Then I visited the site on a desktop and it is the same...

It's like they designed the real website as a mobile site because they were too lazy to do one template for each.

[calgaryboy]

Updated ps4 NHL.TV app guys! Tried NAS-CGY game from last week. One word....WOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!Amazing, smoooooooth crystal clear picture! PS4 app, just WOOOW for me here in Czech republic. 60fps, smooth as silk!

Now one can only hope for huge Flames run in upcoming weeks :-)

Go Flames!

Greetings from Czech republic!

[CroFlames]

After visiting the site again after a few hours, and spending more time on it this time, I can say that I actually hate it more now.

It's like scrolling through twitter or FB. Looks so bad, and is not functional at all. Hover over stats or standings makes you want to barf.

Brutal brutal brutal. The old TSN and old NHL were miles better. Thank God for ESPN still.

[Flame19,289]

Originally Posted by curves2000

Can any CP poster confirm if they updated their Android or iOS app's? I believe that was also in the works too.

I myself am a Blackberry user and I use the Game Center app which gives me everything I need at the moment. I tried emailing them to see if they will update their Blackberry app but I got a super lazy corporate response about how much they appreciate my business and look forward to serving me on "all platforms" in the future.

Anybody here get an update for Android, iOS or Blackberry?

Thx

Yes, I have the updated NHL iOS App on an iPhone 6+.

I very much like the new layout, with a separate Favorite Team page that includes schedule, highlights, Team stats, etc. The video also seems dramatically better with 60 fps HD. If you have an iPad running iOS 9, it appears that there is also picture-in-picture capability.

I haven't checked out the Apple TV App yet, but I'm hoping for big improvements there too.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Flame19,289

Yes, I have the updated NHL iOS App on an iPhone 6+.

I very much like the new layout, with a separate Favorite Team page that includes schedule, highlights, Team stats, etc. The video also seems dramatically better with 60 fps HD. If you have an iPad running iOS 9, it appears that there is also picture-in-picture capability.

I haven't checked out the Apple TV App yet, but I'm hoping for big improvements there too.

I assume that the Apple TV App will only be updated for 4th generation Apple TVs?

Shoot. I got an Apple TV 3rd generation right before the 4G one came out. Oh well.

[Fuzz]

You used to be able to go to standings:
old:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm...d=nav-stn-conf
new:
https://www.nhl.com/standings
and see see the whole legume on one page. Now the line spacing is to large, so you have to scroll to see it. I think all the spacing makes it harder to read.

Also, looking at the headings some seem centered, some are left justified, while the data for scores is right justified and the "next game" content is left justified. Design is all over the place...

Ugh, you also used to be able to click on a team in the standings to get a quick pop-up of upcoming games, with some other quick options. Now it just takes you to the team page, where, uhm, Oh, there it is way down on the right side you can click schedule, with an overwhelming amount of whitespace and repeated headers! Just put it in a table! Who designed this crap? Usability has gone waaaay down.

[Iceman90]

It looks like every other generic hockey site or blog online.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Iceman90

It looks like every other generic hockey site or blog online.

Yup. It looks like SB Nation more than anything else. And I stopped going to SB Nation entirely after their last update.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by calgaryboy

Updated ps4 NHL.TV app guys! Tried NAS-CGY game from last week. One word....WOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!Amazing, smoooooooth crystal clear picture! PS4 app, just WOOOW for me here in Czech republic. 60fps, smooth as silk!

Now one can only hope for huge Flames run in upcoming weeks :-)

Go Flames!

Greetings from Czech republic!

I can't wait to try this out.

Any word on whether there'll be a Smart TV app or not? My TV didn't have NHL Gamecenter, but it does have MLB.TV so I'm hoping we get one now with the rebrand.

[PeteMoss]

Has there ever been a website redesign that people liked?

[Buff]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I voted yes based on what i'd seen on my ipad. Then I visited the site on a desktop and it is the same...

It's like they designed the real website as a mobile site because they were too lazy to do one template for each.

It isn't lazy, it is called responsive web design and it is a new standard. You can't code a website to be good on this device, that device and the other device without forgetting a bunch of devices. It is easier to build one site that is responsive to whatever device it is being displayed on. You get the same consistent look for your website for all of your customers.

[hwy19man]

This is a terrible change. The site is retro looking going back to 2005. I agree with other posters who mentioned that there is too much white and it is too large. I will not be using the site anymore. The CBC Sports website will be my main site.

[HotHotHeat]

New app crashes non-stop.

Par the course, NHL.

[hwy19man]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

I think it looks nice, but I kind of wish they kept the black theme

Originally Posted by Itse

To sum it up:
Godawful work. Not sure if better or worse.

I voted worse because I liked the black background over the new white one.

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Too much white space. Looks clunky.

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Brutal brutal brutal. The old TSN and old NHL were miles better. Thank God for ESPN still.

This will be my secondary site and it has the black theme, background. http://www.nbcsports.com/nhl

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Buff

It isn't lazy, it is called responsive web design and it is a new standard. You can't code a website to be good on this device, that device and the other device without forgetting a bunch of devices. It is easier to build one site that is responsive to whatever device it is being displayed on. You get the same consistent look for your website for all of your customers.

It is lazy, because that design choice begins and ends with "Optimized for mobile, F everyone else."

The reason for all the white space is to keep things separated for mobile users on tiny little cell phone screens. But the formatting breaks down horribly once you get on a laptop or desktop. A phone can fit only a single link on the screen at one time - especially with the ADD-inspired desire for a giant images to spare kids the need to read. But holding my 15" laptop screen and 24" desktop hostage to the same standards is honestly lazy.

[tripin_billie]

Just to test it, I tried the new app on an old Roku 2 I have. This is one of the Roku models that at the beginning on the 2014 season stopped being compatible with the Gamecenter app. NHL and Roku said that it was due to enhanced features. Well, low and behold, the new NHL.TV app works great and has more features than the old "new and improved" gamecenter. I'm glad I had an Xbox to use so that I didn't have to upgrade. But if I did have to upgrade, I'd be extremely angry.

[AC]

Best aspect of the redesign is the 404 page:
https://www.nhl.com/scores/blart

[flamefan74]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Too much white space. Looks clunky.

Agreed. Whats with all these websites thinking that all white is a good color scheme? That's lazy right there. And ESPN is no better.

NBC Sports it is, I guess. At least it's readable.

[Regular_John]

Ok, I'm biased as hell because responsive web design is my bread & butter.

I also see all the moving parts from the other side of the equation, templates, dynamic content, and yes, the mobile devices. So take my opinion with a big ol' grain of salt.

But, I really like it.

The hierarchy of information is clearer, the calls to action are well thought out, each element has it's own breathing room, and my my machine at least, it runs a heck of a lot faster. They've also avoided the "100% line length" on body copy, which drives me up the wall when I see it.

I particularly love the background rollover, and tickets/gamecenter calls to action on the scores page, that's the "wow factor" for me.

But there are pain points, the teams section seems like it was an after thought, it's nice to have site|news|tickets|roster|shop for each team on that page, but to the detriment of usability as you're required to scroll down to find any single team. A 3-6 column grid with a 1-2 CTAs for each team would be easier to scan.

Likewise the players section seems to be riding the current tumblr/facebook/linkedin trends a little to hard. It's a design that might work for a single team of 24 players, but doesn't scale well up to 700+ for the entire league. Sure Crosby & Ovechkin are up front, but unless you dive into the search, you wouldn't be at fault for thinking there's only 10 players in the league.

Having said that, when you drill into an individual player's page, there is a lot to like there. Although some of those cards could have been divided into a 2 column layout.

Anyways, as a web designer I'd give it an 8/10, but as I said, my opinion is tainted by my development knowledge. Which should never trump the end user.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Has there ever been a website redesign that people liked?

Exactly this.

People hate change 95% of the time.