Wild's Hartman returns after serving eight-game suspension for slamming opponent's head to ice
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SEATTLE (AP) — Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman returned after serving an eight-game suspension for slamming an opponent’s head to the ice.
Hartman was in the lineup Tuesday night against the Seattle Kraken for the first time since Feb. 1.
“I’m well rested,” he said. “It’s great to be back with the guys.”
The 30-year-old Hartman was punished for roughing Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle last month, leaving him with bruising above his left eye and five stitches after pushing his face into the ice following a faceoff.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman originally suspended him for 10 games and later agreed to reduce the penalty by two games upon the union's recommendation following Hartman’s in-person hearing. It was the first time in more than three years that Bettman reduced a suspension on appeal.
Bettman wrote that he believed the revised length of the ban would serve as an “appropriate wake-up call” for Hartman to “reevaluate his conduct on the ice and make positive changes to his game.”
Hartman has been suspended five times, including on four occasions in 22 months.
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