Absolutely correct. You said it before DJ, the majority of people who have disliked NHL for the past few years are the people who have purchased it every year for this gen. I fall into that category, in fact I've got it on release day each year just like I'm sure many other people.
It's been minor improvements all along to the core essentials of the game, when they've need major improvements. To me after 7 years on 360 they should have AI almost spot on, but it doesn't come close. They should have created a whole new goaltending system at some point (they had to have know it was bad), but they didn't. That's two huge areas that have been touched up very little in 7 years.
The game has no question gotten better since 07, but it hasn't gotten the attention that it's needed in the correct areas. I don't know hardware or any of that type of stuff, but I will say that if EA finds a way to use the memory and power of the new consoles, this game could be unbelievable. If this means more AI programming, better physics, authentic arenas, then I cannot wait. All I want is an NHL game that I can play all year long and still feel like anything can happen each time I play it.