T.J. Oshie interviews Joel Hofer of the St. Louis Blues while working as an ESPN analyst on January 13, 2026. (Photo by Scott Rovak/NHLI via Getty Images)
NHLI via Getty Images
The field is set for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Action gets underway Saturday with a three-game slate that includes what 2018 Stanley Cup champion T.J. Oshie believes is this year’s most fascinating squad in the post-season mix.
“I’m super interested to see how the Minnesota Wild do,” said the two-time Minnesota high school hockey champion with Warroad High, who has moved his family back to the State of Hockey following his NHL retirement. “I think with the trades that they made, and I’m not sure who they’re going to start at goalie — I assume it’s (Filip) Gustavsson. If he plays well, I think Minnesota, over seven games here, is gonna be a really tough team to beat.”
The Wild finished the season ranked seventh in the NHL with 104 points after executing the biggest trade of the year — acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 12. Though he played just 48 games with the Wild, that was enough for Hughes to set a franchise record for points in a season by a defenseman, with 53.
At the trade deadline, the Wild also acquired a pair of 38-year-old veterans who are still looking for their first Stanley Cups: former Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno (1,287 games played over 19 seasons) and defenseman Jeff Petry (1,048 games played over 16 seasons), along with 24-year-old Minnetonka native Bobby Brink.
But despite their strong season, the Wild finished third in the NHL’s highly competitive Central Division. That sets up a first-round matchup with the league’s third-place team, the Dallas Stars, who finished with 112 points this season under new coach Glen Gulutzan and are battle-tested in the playoffs, having been to the Western Conference Final in each of the last three seasons.
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Also in the bracket: the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche, who finished with 121 points as the NHL’s best regular-season team.
Facing off in the first round, Minnesota-Dallas will be a matchup worthy of a Conference Final. It also carries a little extra spice, since the Stars franchise began as the Minnesota North Stars before relocating to the Lone Star State in 1993.
The Wild have reached the Conference Final just once since joining the league as an expansion team in 2000 — all the way back in 2003. But despite their underdog status, Oshie likes their chances against Dallas — and going forward.
“I’m interested to see how they do,” he said. “If they play how I think that they’ll play, I think they have a really good chance to win it. They have a tough road, so it’s probably pretty easy to already write them off. They’ve got to beat Dallas and they’ve got to beat Colorado. Two absolute horses — they could win the Cup themselves. So I think there’s a chance, if they get through those two teams, that they have a really good chance to go all the way.”
After 1,010 games played during a 16-year NHL career that was defined by grit, vigor and some of the sharpest shootout skills in hockey, T.J. Oshie could have leaned into a life of leisure during his first official year after retirement.
Instead, the affable 39-year-old has stepped seamlessly into the world of broadcasting, as an in-game and studio analyst for ESPN as well as regional broadcasts for his former team, the Washington Capitals, and with NBC during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“I was planning on retiring and just working on my golf game and being the best possible dad I could be, coaching all the kids’ sports,” he said. “My wife is actually who pushed me into doing TV, because she enjoyed my interviews that she saw during games and after games. She’s like, ‘You’d be really good at that,’ and I was like, ‘No. I can’t go on media. I’m a player.’"
In the end, wife Lauren got her way.
“She pushed me into doing my first show with ESPN last year in the Western Conference Final, and I actually enjoyed it — loved it," Oshie said. “Got an agent and then just kind of figured it out after that. One thing led to another. It was just ESPN, then it was ESPN and (Washington) Capitals TV and Capitals sponsorships. Then it was NBC for the Olympics. It’s honestly really cool. It’s probably been the busiest year of my life, I think. But it’s great to stay connected to the game and be able to see the guys and go from team to team and keep tabs on everyone."
As a broadcast rookie this season, Oshie has been joined at ESPN by his former teammate from the St. Louis Blues, Erik Johnson. But making the adjustment to the broadcast world doesn’t carry the same rituals as climbing the ladder in hockey.
“I keep trying to rookie myself,” Oshie laughed. “After we get off air, I’m like, ‘Does anyone need coffee? Who wants Starbucks? What can I do?’ They’re like, ‘No, no, you’re good.’ Then the next time, ’Hey, who wants water? Anything?’ They’re like, ‘No.’ ‘Do I have to do a rookie dinner?’ They’re like, ‘No, we don’t really do that.’ I’m like, ‘God, it’s been so long since I was a rookie. I want someone to treat me terrible. Haze me a little bit!”
This spring, Oshie is also teaming up with his former Capitals teammate Tom Wilson as part of Great Clips’ Power Play Sweepstakes campaign.
“I got asked by the NHL Alumni Association, and it was a perfect fit,” he said. “My mom had her own salon while I was growing up, so I was a big hair guy. I always had a nice and tight haircut, and the fact that Tom Wilson was also in the spot with me was phenomenal. He’s like my little brother, so we had a lot of fun on set.”
Between now and May 10, fans can enter the Great Clips Power Play Sweepstakes on the Great Clips app. One lucky fan and four friends will win tickets and a trip to a 2026 Stanley Cup Final game as well as gift cards for free haircuts.
“If you don’t win the trip, you get $2 off your haircut,” Oshie added. “I’m a big discount guy, always looking for a nice deal. So you get a clean cut, $2 off. Let’s go — sign me up.”
Fans in the U.S. and Canada can learn more about the sweepstakes at www.GreatClips.com/Hockey.
Here are the first-round matchups for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, with start times and TV details for Game 1:
Ottawa Senators at Carolina Hurricanes: Saturday April 18, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres: Sunday April 19, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning: Sunday April 19, 5:45 p.m. ET, TNT
Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins: Saturday April 18, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche: Sunday April 19, 3 p.m. ET, TNT
Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars: Saturday April 18, 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Utah Mammoth at Vegas Golden Knights: Sunday April 19, 10 p.m. ET, TNT
Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers: Monday April 20, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN2
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