NHL Slaps Wild's Ryan Hartman With Hefty 10-Game Suspension
The NHL has been handing out suspensions this season like they're one of Oprah's favorite things, with even the best player on the planet, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, getting slapped with a sussy.
None of them have gotten into double digits, but Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman would like you to hold his proverbial beer.
On Monday, the NHL handed Hartman a 10-game suspension for an incident that happened over the weekend when the Wild were in Ottawa taking on the Senators.
Hartman faced off against Ottawa's Tim Stutzle and after the two fought for the puck, Hartman appeared to drive Stutzle face-first onto the ice.
Hartman will have the opportunity to appeal the suspension — which will cost him just over $487,000 in lost salary — so we'll see how that pans out, because it could get really interesting.
He reportedly argued that he was off balance and attempted to use Stutzle to catch himself. Unfortunately for him, the league didn't buy it.
"It is important to note that this is not a hockey play," the league said in a video explaining the rationale behind the suspension, per Sportsnet. "Hartman contends that he is attempting to use his hand to regain his balance using Stützle for support and that their fall to the ice is accidental. We disagree."
Upon re-watching the clip with that in mind, I can kind of see that, but it's really hard to say.
Plus, Hartman isn't a guy who's going to be getting the benefit of the doubt from the NHL Department of Player Safety. He's been suspended before and is known to have pulled a little funny business on draws before.
In fact, last season, Hartman was hit with a fine for high-sticking Winnipeg's Cole Perfetti which earned him a fine.
Again, I don't always agree with dishing out punishments based on previous, completely unrelated incidents, but I think we can all agree that the high stick on Perfetti was intentional, so the DOPS not buying Hartman's argument about falling isn't a big surprise.
We'll keep an eye on things to see if he and the Wild appeal (I'm sure he'll want to). Through 48 games this season, Hartman has registered 17 points (7G, 10A).
As it stands, his 10-game suspension is the first double-digit suspension the league has given out since Washington's Tom Wilson was suspended 20 games back in 2018.