Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman has been suspended by the NHL for three games for throwing his stick in the direction of officials and “verbally berating the officials in an inappropriate manner” following a 2-1 overtime loss Saturday night to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Hartman will miss the rest of the Wild’s homestand against the Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets and be eligible to return Sunday in his hometown against the Chicago Blackhawks.
It’s the fourth suspension of Hartman’s career and the third time he’s been suspended in the past 13 1/2 months.
The decision was announced by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Monday hours after Hartman had a phone hearing for what the league deemed unsportsmanlike conduct. The NHL could have automatically suspended Hartman three games on Sunday under Rule 40.4, Category III, which includes throwing a stick at an official, but the league chose to talk to Hartman first to hear his side of the story.
The league believed Hartman’s argument that he wasn’t trying to hit or hurt anyone with his stick, “but Hartman, himself, acknowledges his actions are unprofessional, unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” the league said in a video announcement.
Here is the Ryan Hartman suspension video by @NHLPlayerSafety pic.twitter.com/88EI2sKEpH
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 1, 2024
Hartman said through a Wild spokesman that he’ll address the incident with reporters as early as Tuesday.
Hartman was upset with referees Brandon Blandina and Garrett Rank after Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin wasn’t penalized for high-sticking him in front of the net in the final minute of the third period. If he had been, the Wild would have had a power play for the final 37 seconds of the third period and potentially a four-on-three power play to start overtime.
Ouch. pic.twitter.com/pj5dQPehsd
— Minny Hockey (@MinnyHockey) March 30, 2024
After Jonathan Marchessault buried an empty-net goal with 90 seconds left in overtime, Hartman began to walk down the tunnel, then returned to the bench and threw his stick like a javelin across the width of the ice. It slid by one of the referees.
Hartman was assessed a misconduct for abusive language, according to the game sheet.
Hartman, 29, has a long rap sheet with the NHL.
Over his 10-year career, he has also been fined seven times, the last coming in January after he high-sticked Winnipeg’s Cole Perfetti off a faceoff. The incident sparked a weeklong war of words in which Perfetti accused Hartman of being caught on an open mic saying he did so intentionally as payback for Brenden Dillon injuring Kirill Kaprizov the day before.
Hartman denied saying that.
GO DEEPER
Exclusive: Wild’s Ryan Hartman responds to intentional high-stick claim, denies he admitted it was payback
Hartman is a hard-nosed, fiery player with a tendency to lose his temper on the ice. He has taken fewer undisciplined penalties this season after being scratched over them by then-coach Dean Evason last season.
New Wild coach John Hynes was asked Monday if Hartman’s reputation is leading to him not getting the benefit of the doubt on calls. At a minimum, he has earned scrutiny from the NHL Department of Player Safety with his every move.
“I think there’s some validity to that when the guy has a track record, and Hartzy obviously does,” Hynes said. “I think he’s done a good job personally as a player to control himself and make sure that he’s not putting himself or the team in disadvantaged situations from penalties, so credit to him for that. It’s something that we’ve talked about and he’s taken action as the player.
“But moving forward, sometimes there is some of that. I think if you have a track record, it’s harder sometimes maybe to get some calls. I don’t know because I’m not a referee, but I think it’s something that we’ll continue to work with and talk with Hartzy about.”
Hartman is deemed a repeat offender by the NHL. He was last suspended two games on Nov. 26 for slew-footing Detroit’s Alex DeBrincat. He also received a one-game ban last April for an interference penalty on Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers. In April 2018, he was suspended one game for an illegal check to the head on Carl Soderberg.
Repeat offenders lose salary based on number of games in a season (82) versus days. With his $1.7 million salary, Hartman will lose $62,195.13 for this suspension and now has lost nearly $104,000 in salary this season due to his two suspensions.
Hartman will pay even more if he’s not squeaky clean next season. He gets a raise to $4 million per season over the next three years and would lose $48,780 per game if he’s suspended within 18 months of Monday’s suspension.
Hartman practiced on his normal line Monday to the right of Mats Zuccarello and Marco Rossi. Hynes said if Hartman was suspended, Adam Beckman could slide into his spot or he’d shuffle the second, third and fourth lines. There’s always a chance the Wild recall a forward from AHL Iowa, as well, especially because Marcus Foligno is facing season-ending abdominal surgery.
Hartman has scored 126 goals and 275 points in 574 NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers and Wild. He’s in his fifth season with Minnesota.
(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images )
