Getty Ryan Hartman, Minnesota Wild
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced on April 1 that Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman has been suspended for three games, without pay, for unsportsmanlike conduct during his team’s March 30 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The decision was announced hours after Hartman had a phone hearing for what the NHL deemed unsportsmanlike conduct. Per the league’s video announcement, Hartman was assessed a 10-minute misconduct at 3:30 of overtime for throwing his stick toward officials officials and “verbally berating the officials in an inappropriate manner.”
Hartman will miss the rest of the Wild’s homestand against the Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets. He will eligible to return on April 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Hartman’s Suspension Stems from ‘Unacceptable’ & ‘Unprofessional’ Actions
According to the official game summary from the Wild’s overtime loss to the Golden Knights, Hartman was assessed a misconduct for abusive language. After Vegas winger Jonathan Marchessault buried an empty-net goal with 90 seconds left in overtime, Hartman began to walk down the tunnel toward the Wild dressing room; he then returned to the bench and threw his stick across the ice in the direction of one of the officials.
The NHL could have automatically suspended Hartman three games at the time the incident occurred under Rule 40.4, Category III of the league’s official rulebook, which includes throwing a stick at an official. However, the league opted to grant Hartman a phone hearing before handing down a decision.
The NHL believed Hartman’s argument that he wasn’t attempting 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
The NHL considered Hartman’s hearing when handing down the decision, as well as factoring in his lengthy record when it comes to supplemental discipline.
Hartman Has a Long Rap Sheet of Disciplinary Issues
This is the fourth suspension of Hartman’s 10-year NHL career and the third in the past 14 months. Since his debut in 2015, he has also been fined seven times, most recently in January after he high-sticked Jets center Cole Perfetti off a face-off. The incident sparked a weeklong controversy in which Perfetti accused Hartman of saying he high-sticked him intentionally as payback for Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon injuring Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov a day earlier; Hartman denied doing so.
Hartman is deemed a repeat offender, as defined under the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement as a player who has been suspended within the last two years. He was last suspended two games on Nov. 26 for tripping Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat. Prior to that, he received a one-game suspension last April for an interference penalty on Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers.
Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, repeat offenders lose salary based on number of games in a season (82) versus days. With his $1.7 million annual salary, Hartman will lose $62,195.13 for this suspension, He has now has lost nearly $104,000 in salary this season due to his two suspensions, with all money going to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.