NHL commissioner Gary Bettman upheld the suspension of Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman on appeal but reduced the length from 10 games to eight.
The NHL Player Safety department announced on Feb. 3 that Hartman was suspended for 10 games for roughing against the Ottawa Senators’ Tim Stutzle. It said Hartman ‘used his forearm to violently slam’ Stutzle’s head into the ice during a faceoff late in the second period of a Feb. 1 game.
Hartman had been suspended four times previously in his career, including three games last April for throwing his stick in the direction of an on-ice official. He also has been fined seven times, including once in January 2024 for high-sticking an opponent during a faceoff. The department noted that he has been disciplined roughly once every 60 games.
The NHL Players’ Association appealed, arguing Hartman’s action wasn’t intentional and that 10 games was too high compared with previous roughing suspensions.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, the first appeal is heard by the commissioner, then can be appealed to an independent arbitrator. Bettman heard the case on Feb. 14 in Montreal.
The commissioner disagreed with Hartman’s contention that the incident was accidental. He said that if Hartman were off-balance and bracing himself on the play, there were other actions he could have taken.
But Bettman agreed to the NHLPA’s request to reduce the suspension to eight games. Though precedent allows for an increase in suspension length for repeat offenders, Bettman argued that a jump of seven games from the three-game April suspension was ‘excessive.’
‘In light of Mr. Hartman’s prior suspension of three games, I believe that a suspension of eight games should be sufficient to serve as an appropriate ‘wake-up call to Mr. Hartman, causing him to re-evaluate his conduct on the ice and make positive changes to his game,’ Bettman wrote.
Hartman has already served four games of the suspension and is eligible to return on March 4.
The original suspension would have cost Hartman $487,804.90 in lost pay. That figure drops to more than $390,000.
The suspension, which had been the longest this season, now matches the eight games given to the New York Rangers’ Matt Rempe.
Ducks’ Trevor Zegras suspended for three games
NHL Player Safety suspended Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras for three games for interference against the Detroit Red Wings’ Michael Rasmussen during Sunday’s game.
‘Outside the window where a check may be legally finished, Zegras delivers a late high hit that makes significant contact with Rasmussen’s head,’ the department said in its suspension video.
Rasmussen was injured on the play Sunday. Zegras will forfeit nearly $90,000 in pay.