The Minnesota Wild’s new TV setup took another step Wednesday, when the team announced that Wild+ will be available to Spectrum customers, depending on their TV package.
That matters because, until this deal was announced, there was no plan for the Wild’s in-house network to land on any standard cable or satellite platform. Now, at least one major carrier is on board as the franchise moves into a very different broadcast era.
The Wild+ rollout comes after the club cut ties with FanDuel Sports Network this offseason and launched its own TV and streaming network following years of bankruptcy proceedings and television uncertainty. Fans can still subscribe directly to Wild+ for $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the year, and stream games through Amazon Prime without needing a Prime subscription.
Spectrum gives the Wild another important outlet in the local market. Charter serves more than 150 cities and towns across Minnesota and is the state’s second-largest cable provider, behind only Comcast Xfinity.
Even with that agreement in place, the broader picture is still unsettled. The NHL said it remains in talks with additional cable and satellite providers about carrying Wild+, with more channel details to come as deals are finalized.
For now, the Wild are set to play 84 games this season, with more than 15 scheduled for national television on ESPN, ABC and TNT. The rest will be exclusive to Wild+.
That broadcast shift is only part of a busy offseason for Minnesota. President of hockey operations Bill Guerin, who recently signed a multi-year contract extension, let veterans Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson and Vladimir Tarasenko leave in free agency, reshaping the team’s top-six in the process.
That means fans are going to see a different look right away when the Wild open their 2026-27 regular season next week, October 1, in Nashville. It may take some getting used to seeing Max Shabanov and Bobby Brink handle 15-plus minutes a night alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy.
Before that, Minnesota is still in preseason mode, with the third of four exhibition games set for tonight against the Dallas Stars. But the bigger change for a lot of fans may not be on the ice at all. It’s on the screen.
In Other News...
Wild Brought In Olli Maatta For A Problem They Still Must Fix
The Wild spent the offseason reshaping parts of their roster, and the addition of Olli Mtt is one of the clearest signs of what they wanted to address. Along with bringing in Blake Coleman, Minnesota has tried to add some sturdiness to a group that knows its margin for error is slim, especially when the game gets tight and the pressure shifts to defending first.
Mtt has already sounded comfortable with the shorter training camp and has pointed to the value of defense and penalty killing as the kinds of details that can help steady this team. Minnesota is looking at him mostly as a defensive piece, not a scorer, which makes his fit fairly straightforward in theory. The real question is whether the Wild can turn that intent into a cleaner penalty kill and the kind of reliable structure they still need. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Boldy May Be On Verge Of A Much Bigger Wild Role
Matt Boldy is already past the point of being just another promising young piece for the Wild. After a career year with 42 goals and 85 points last season, he enters this year with the kind of momentum that tends to change how a team looks at its depth chart, especially for a player who has also raised his profile through international play and in the postseason. For Minnesota, the conversation around Boldy is no longer about potential alone, but about how much more responsibility he can handle.
The early signs point to a bigger role, with the Wild considering him for the second line and leaving the door open for shifts to the top unit alongside Kirill Kaprizov. Head coach John Hynes has already hinted that Boldy could see more opportunities as the season unfolds, which makes him one of the more interesting pieces to watch in camp and beyond. If that usage grows the way the organization seems to believe it can, Boldy may be on the verge of becoming much more than a strong scoring winger. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Camp Is Already Stirring Up Two Big Lineup Battles
The second week of Wild camp has already shifted from getting legs under them to sorting out roles, and special teams is a big part of that conversation. Minnesota has put a clear emphasis on improving its penalty kill, and the early returns have included a promising fit from Blake Coleman, the new addition who is settling in quickly and looks positioned to help shorthanded while also giving the club a boost on the second line at five-on-five.
At the same time, Maxim Shabanov is carving out his own place in the mix, and the possibilities around him are hard to ignore. The intrigue is not just whether he sticks, but where he fits best in a lineup that could use another dynamic option, with one possibility putting him alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman. For a camp that is supposed to be about building structure, Minnesota already has a few forward combinations and penalty-kill looks worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]