That was one of the big things that GM Connected dealt with. You get to play real people, instead of a CPU (which to me feels pointless), but they've all invested something in your league and presumably you know most of them either personally or through a venue like this one. It's sort of like a hockey pool - you can even organize it like one, where everyone buys in and the cup champ takes the pot. And you get all the team building benefits of Franchise mode but without the terrible GM AI.
Basically, I'd always play online because playing any other way feels like a waste of time. I spend a bunch of hours playing (or simming) games to see if I can build my team and organization how I want it, and after a few hours I'll be struck with the absurdity of it. Why am I doing this? Playing the games against a CPU opponent gets repetitive for me, particularly since I get no real sense of accomplishment at beating a machine.
Online vs mode is better but also gets a bit boring after a while. EASHL is probably the best implemented mode, but has the drawbacks people have mentioned about trying to get into a game and then people quitting when they're losing, plus it doesn't really feel like NHL controlling only one player - or at least it's less fun for me. HUT, I will never ever play given its pay-to-win nature (and frankly even if you gave me a team of legends I'd still get bored; playing with all-star teams isn't that fun).
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