NEW YORK — The NHL has reduced Minnesota forward Ryan Hartman’s suspension to eight games after the NHL Players' Association appealed the ban.
The league announced Monday that Hartman's suspension for roughing Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle will be decreased by two games after commissioner Gary Bettman heard Hartman's appeal at a Feb. 14 hearing.
Hartman was originally suspended for 10 games on Feb. 3 after he received a match penalty for falling on top of Stutzle and driving his head into the ice late in the second period of Ottawa's 6-0 win over visiting Minnesota on Feb. 1.
In a written summary of his decision, Bettman said an escalation of seven games from Hartman's prior suspension — a three-game ban for throwing his stick towards an official at the end of a March 30, 2024 game — was "not proportional."
Bettman said a suspension of eight games should be a sufficient "wake-up call" for Hartman, who has been suspended five times and fined seven times, to change his behaviour.
The reduction in Hartman's suspension means he should recoup around US$96,000 of the $487,805 in salary he was to forfeit as part of his latest suspension.
Hartman has served four games of his suspension and will be eligible to return March 4 against Seattle.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb, 24, 2025.
The Canadian Press
