NHL Player News

Faksa (upper body) will not be an option for Czechia's quarterfinals matchup versus Canada on Wednesday in the 2026 Winter Olympics, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Faksa will remain unavailable for a second straight game -- he missed Tuesday's 3-2 win over Denmark in the qualifying round. Barring a miraculous upset over the Canadians, Faksa won't be in action until at least Feb. 25, when the Stars resume play against the Kraken.

Balcers (illness) won't play for Latvia in Tuesday's qualification playoff matchup against Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Balcers has one assist through three games at the tournament. He has accounted for 13 goals and 23 points in 29 games for the ZSC Lions of Switzerland's National League this season.

Hameenaho was elevated from AHL Utica on Tuesday, per Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News.

Hameenaho was sent to the minors before the Olympic break and drew into one game with the Comets, logging an assist and a minus-2 rating in a 5-1 loss to Rochester. The right-shot winger played in nine consecutive games with the Devils prior to his stint in the minors, picking up his first four NHL points while averaging 13:11 of ice time.

MacDonald (hip) was placed on waivers Tuesday, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

MacDonald appears ready to return to action after undergoing hip surgery in early September. Assuming he clears waivers, he will be activated from the injured non-roster list and could head to the minors. MacDonald had 31 goals and 55 points in 63 appearances with AHL Colorado during the 2024-25 regular season.

White was summoned from AHL Utica on Tuesday, Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News reports.

White has contributed four assists, 14 shots on goal, 16 blocked shots and 23 hits across 23 NHL appearances this season. He hasn't earned a point in 10 AHL games during the 2025-26 campaign.

Hagens was named the Hockey East Player of the Week on Tuesday.

Hagens had two goals and three assists over three games. He was also named the Beanpot MVP after lifting Boston College to the title of that tournament in a win over Boston University. Hagens is up to 34 points in 26 appearances this season, three shy of matching his 37-game point output from 2024-25.

Dries was recalled from AHL Grand Rapids on Tuesday under emergency conditions.

Dries has produced 17 goals and 33 points in 39 minor-league appearances this campaign. He hasn't seen any NHL action yet this season and could return to the AHL before Detroit visits Ottawa on Feb. 26.

Watson was recalled from AHL Grand Rapids on Tuesday on an emergency basis.

Watson had a brief stint with the Red Wings earlier in the campaign, but he did not appear in any games. The 34-year-old winger has put up 11 goals, 19 points, 123 PIM and a plus-6 rating over 39 appearances with the minor-league squad in 2025-26.

Markstrom was the first netminder off the ice at Tuesday's morning skate, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, which indicates he'll tend the twine for Sweden against Latvia during Tuesday's qualification matchup at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Markstrom is set to make his second straight start for the Swedes after Filip Gustavsson played in the team's first two games of the tournament. The 36-year-old Markstrom turned aside 29 of 32 shots in a 5-3 win over Slovakia on Saturday. The Latvians finished last in Group C during round-robin play, going 1-0-0-2. The winner of Tuesday's game will face the United States on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

Lundell (illness) participated in Tuesday's practice and will be ready for Finland's quarterfinal matchup against Switzerland on Wednesday at the 2026 Winter Olympics, according to Jaakko Perttila of Leijonat.com.

Lundell sat out Saturday's 11-0 win over Italy after coming down with the norovirus. He has registered one goal in two games for Finland at the tournament.