NHL Player News
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Brock Boeser RW | VAN
Canucks' Brock Boeser: Cleared to play Wednesday
Boeser (concussion) will be activated from injured reserve ahead of his return to he lineup versus Winnipeg on Wednesday, per Canucks Insider.
Boeser missed five games ahead of the Olympic break due to a concussion, but he appears to be good to go. After suffering through a 21-game goal drought, the 29-year-old winger has notched three goals in his last six outings. If Boeser goes through another slump, he could be in danger of missing the 20-goal threshold for just the second time in the past six seasons.
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Scott Wedgewood G | COL
Avalanche's Scott Wedgewood: Slated to start Wednesday
Wedgewood is slated to start Wednesday's road game against Utah, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports.
Wedgewood started in just one of Colorado's seven games leading up to the Olympic break, but he'll start in the first half of a back-to-back set following the layoff. Across seven outings since the start of the calendar year, he's gone 3-3-1 with a 2.86 GAA and .888 save percentage.
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Joel Hofer G | STL
Blues' Joel Hofer: Guarding cage against Kraken
Hofer will patrol the crease at home versus Seattle on Thursday, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.
Hofer and Jordan Binnington were splitting the workload ahead of the Olympic break, and that trend figures to continue now that the NHL is back in action. In his last four outings, the 25-year-old Hofer went 1-2-1 with a 3.97 GAA and .824 save percentage.
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Sonny Milano LW | WAS
Capitals' Sonny Milano: Placed on waivers
Milano was designated for waivers Wednesday, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.
Through 31 contests this year, Milano has generated four goals and four helpers. However, he remains pointless with the man advantage despite logging 1:03 of power-play ice time per game. His $1.9 million cap hit could be of interest to some teams. If Milano clears waivers, he figures to head to AHL Hershey.
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Karel Vejmelka G | UTA
Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Set to face Colorado
Vejmelka is expected to start Wednesday's home game against Colorado, per Brogan Houston of the Deseret News.
Vejmelka joined Team Czechia for the 2026 Winter Olympics, but he didn't play in the tournament. His most recent start was Feb. 4, when he turned aside 29 of 30 shots en route to a 4-1 win over Detroit. Vejmelka has a 27-14-2 record, 2.58 GAA and .902 save percentage in 44 outings with Utah in 2025-26. The Avalanche lead the league in goals per game with 3.84. That comfortably surpasses the second-place Lightning (3.55).
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Filip Gustavsson G | MIN
Wild's Filip Gustavsson: Set to start Thursday
Gustavsson will start Thursday's road game against Colorado, Jessi Pierce of NHL.com reports.
Gustavsson saw some playing time for Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, but he'll draw the start in Minnesota's first game following the layoff. Over his seven starts leading up to the Olympic break, he went 6-0-1 with a 3.19 GAA and .888 save percentage.
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Connor McMichael C | WAS
Capitals' Connor McMichael: Activated from injured reserve
McMichael (upper body) was activated from injured reserve Wednesday, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.
McMichael was placed on injured reserve at the end of January, but he should be back in action Wednesday against the Flyers, which is the Capitals' first game following the Olympic break. The 25-year-old has recorded eight goals, 23 assists, 30 hits and 30 blocked shots while averaging 17:03 of ice time over 55 appearances this season.
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Roope Hintz LW | DAL
Stars' Roope Hintz: Unavailable Wednesday
Hintz (illness) will miss Wednesday's game against Seattle, per Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine.
Hintz had a goal and four points across six outings with Team Finland during the 2026 Winter Games. He also has 15 goals and 44 points in 52 appearances with Dallas in 2025-26. Arttu Hyry was summoned from AHL Texas on Wednesday and is set to make his NHL season debut.
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Nikolas Matinpalo D | OTT
Senators' Nikolas Matinpalo: Dealing with injury
Matinpalo will not be available against the Red Wings on Thursday due to an undisclosed injury, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.
Matinpalo has appeared in just two games of Ottawa's last 19 games while sitting out the others as a healthy scratch. In his 30 appearances this year, the Finnish blueliner has yet to find the back of the net while managing four assists, 19 shots and 27 hits along the way.