One thing I still want is player's interest in going to teams. So a vet would like to be on a contender to win, but his interest rises in rebuilders the further he is in free agency and so on.
Yes! I think they had it back in NHL06-07 on 360 is when I played it. I would love to see FAs have more of a personality and to see what kind of team they want to go to so it's not just all money based.
I think it would be a great add to reintroduce the GM relationships especially with the new trade finder. Spamming poor trade offers or offers that opposing teams aren't interested should have negative consequences, just like call-ups and demotions affect morale. Could spin off GM relationships in regards to trades with coaching relationships too. They already have coaching and front office staff morale, why not make it fully dynamic?
I also miss the career totals on each player's info tab. I loved seeing their career stats to see where they ranked among the hockey elites. Huge when drafting these franchise players and playing out decades of their careers.
One last thing that would be awesome is to have a overview page at the end of the franchise mode. One of my friends simmed an entire 25 year franchise mode and it just ended and was terribly disappointing. I think having overall records and highlights throughout a GMs career would be cool.