The NHL Department of Player Safety suspended Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman for two games on Monday for a dangerous trip on Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat.
The incident occurred Sunday, when Hartman was chasing another Detroit player with the puck and stretched out his right skate to trip the nearby DeBrincat from behind.
“It is important to note that Hartman has time and space to take a different angle down the boards in pursuing the puck that does not put him on course to collide with DeBrincat,” a Department of Player Safety official said in an explanation video. “Instead, he chooses to approach DeBrincat from behind, and while reaching for the puck, sweeps both of his feet, causing a dangerous backwards fall to the ice that gives DeBrincat little ability to defend or protect himself.”
The official said the disciplinary decision factored in the intentional nature of Hartman’s trip, as well as his past history. Hartman has been suspended twice and fined six times previously in his NHL career.
Hartman will be unavailable for Minnesota’s next two games: at home against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday and on the road at the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Hartman is in his fifth season with the Wild, who fired coach Dean Evason earlier Monday amid the team’s 5-10-4 start. Hartman has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) through 18 games.
–Field Level Media