Stars’ Roope Hintz a game-time decision against Kraken
Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz will be a game-time decision for Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Kraken as he recovers from an illness, according to Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan.
Hintz, 29, represented his native Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, scoring one goal and four points in six games to help the Finns win a bronze medal.
The NHL is slated to return from its three-week Olympic break on Wednesday with a slate of eight games, including Stars vs. Kraken at the American Airlines Center in Dallas at 7:00 p.m. CT.
Stars beat reporter Robert Tiffin shared the news of Hintz’s illness from Gulutzan’s media availability in Dallas on Monday.
Finally: Roope Hintz is sick, so he’s also a question mark for Wednesday depending on how his illness goes.
Through 52 games with the Stars in the 2025-26 regular season, Hintz has collected 15 goals and 44 points. The 6’3″ center from Nokia, Finland ranks fourth on the team in goals and fifth in points.
Hintz is one of four Finnish players on the Stars, and all four of them won bronze with Team Finland at this year’s Olympics. With Hintz, Miro Heiskanen, Mikko Rantanen, and Esa Lindell, the Stars have one of the most notable contingents of Finnish players in the entire NHL.
The Stars originally selected Hintz in the second round (No. 49 overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft. Hintz spent his first two post-draft seasons with Liiga club HIFK Helsinki before coming to North America in 2017.
Hintz made his NHL debut with the Stars in the 2018-19 season, scoring 22 points in his first 58 NHL games. He further established himself as a top-line forward with the club in the 2020-21 season, racking up 43 points in 41 games over the shortened league schedule.
Through 520 career NHL games over parts of eight seasons with the Stars, Hintz has collected 190 goals and 421 points. He’s added 27 goals and 69 points in 95 playoff games, with 25 of those appearances coming during the Stars’ run to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.