NHL 14 Cover Athlete Vote Launches Today

Last Year’s Inaugural EA SPORTS NHL Cover Vote Generated More Than 25 Million Fan Votes and Landed Philadelphia Flyers’ Captain Claude Giroux on the Cover.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), the National Hockey League (NHL^®) and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA^®) announced today that fans can once again shape the face of the world’s hockey video game franchise with the launch of the 2^nd annual EA SPORTS NHL^® Cover Vote Campaign on NHL.com/CoverVote.

“After last year’s record setting campaign where more than 25 million votes were cast, this is another tremendous opportunity for our fans to once again show their support for their team and selected players by voting in this second installment of the EA SPORTS NHL Cover Vote Campaign,” Dave McCarthy, NHL Vice President Consumer Products Marketing. “We look forward to our fans’ creativity and incomparable passion in driving another record setting vote count and ultimately determining who will grace the cover of NHL^®14 worldwide.”

“These 60 NHL stars are excited to be finalists in the vote campaign that will see the fans ultimately select the EA SPORTS NHL 14 cover athlete. Following an impressive level of fan and player engagement shown in the cover vote last year, we are looking forward to seeing how the bar will be raised this year,” said Adam Larry, NHLPA Director of Licensing.

“Players who have graced the EA SPORTS NHL cover in the past have historically had banner years in the season that followed,” said Dean Richards, General Manager, EA SPORTS NHL. “Patrick Kane scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in 2010, Steven Stamkos notched a league-leading 60 goals in 2012 and Claude Giroux becoming the Captain of the Philadelphia Flyers this season. We’re looking forward to see which fans step up to get their player on the cover of NHL 14.”

The voting process will consist of two preliminary rounds, followed by a 16-player bracket as a field of 60 NHL players is narrowed down to one. The winning player will be revealed as the EA SPORTS NHL 14 Cover Athlete during the 2013 Stanley Cup^® Final*. Fans worldwide are encouraged to vote as often as possible at NHL.com/CoverVote to ensure their favorite player advances through the rounds.

This year fans can double their voting power by using these player specific hashtags on “Twitter Vote Thursdays.” Each player specific hashtag used on Twitter on Thursdays will be counted as two official votes. Fans can join the conversation about the cover vote every day by using #NHL14CoverVote on Twitter and Instagram.

NHL 14 Cover Vote Schedule:

• Round of 60 – April 22-28: Teammate vs. teammate. One representative from each team plus two wild card selections advance. **
• 32-Player Leaderboard – April 29-May 5: Fans vote for their favorite 16 candidates; top 16 vote-getters advance.
• 16-player Bracket – May 6 - May 26: Weekly round-by-round, single-elimination playoff bracket decides finalists.
• The Finals – May 27- June 2: Winner takes the NHL 14 Cover.

NHL 14 Cover Athlete Candidates

Eastern Conference

Bruins
Tyler Seguin, Zdeno Chara
Lightning
Teddy Purcell, Victor Hedman

Canadiens
P.K. Subban, David Desharnais
Maple Leafs
Joffrey Lupul, James van Riemsdyk

Capitals
Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson
Panthers
Kris Versteeg, Brian Campbell

Devils
Martin Brodeur, Adam Henrique
Penguins
Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang

Flyers
Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek
Rangers
Carl Hagelin, Ryan Callahan

Hurricanes
Eric Staal, Jordan Staal
Sabres
Ryan Miller, Tomas Vanek

Islanders
John Tavares, Michael Grabner
Senators
Craig Anderson, Milan Michalek

Jets
Evander Kane, Andrew Ladd

Western Conference

Avalanche
Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog
Kings
Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown

Blackhawks
Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith
Oilers
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall

Blue Jackets
Brandon Dubinsky, Sergei Bobrovsky
Predators
Brandon Yip, Mike Fisher

Blues
Alex Pietrangelo, David Perron
Red Wings
Jimmy Howard, Pavel Datsyuk

Canucks
Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows
Sharks
Joe Thornton, Logan Couture

Coyotes
Keith Yandle, Shane Doan
Stars
Kari Lehtonen, Jamie Benn

Ducks
Andrew Cogliano, Matt Beleskey
Wild
Mikko Koivu, Niklas Backstrom

Flames
Dennis Wideman, Lee Stempniak

For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.

*Date and Time to be announced.

**Wild cards to be selected by EA SPORTS.

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