Ryan Hartman of the Minnesota Wild has been suspended for 10 games for using his right arm to slam an opponent’s head into the ice during a faceoff. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced the suspension on Monday night after holding a Zoom hearing with Hartman earlier that day. The hearing by Zoom allowed the league to impose a suspension of six or more games.
This marks the longest suspension for on-ice conduct since 2018 when Washington’s Tom Wilson received 20 games for an illegal check to the head, which was later reduced to 14 games on appeal. Hartman has the right to appeal his suspension, first to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and then to an arbitrator if he chooses. This is Hartman’s fifth suspension and his fourth since 2023.
According to the collective bargaining agreement, players who repeatedly break league rules face harsher penalties for each new violation. Hartman, 30, was originally given a match penalty for roughing Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle late in the second period during Saturday’s game.
“Hartman argues that he was using his hand to regain his balance and unintentionally fell with Stutzle,” the Department of Player Safety explained. “We disagree. Hartman purposely used his forearm and body weight to force Stutzle’s head into the ice from a height, making this play both dangerous and unacceptable.”
As a result of the suspension, Hartman will forfeit $487,805 in salary. This is his 11th instance of supplemental discipline in his 663 regular-season and playoff games since his NHL debut in 2015.
