Wild forward Ryan Hartman had until today to decide if he’d file an appeal of the ten-game suspension handed down by the league on Monday. He has elected to do so as the NHLPA announced (Twitter link) that they have filed an appeal on Hartman’s behalf today.
The incident occurred on Saturday versus Ottawa. Off a faceoff, Hartman drove Tim Stutzle face-first into the ice. He received a match penalty on the play and after being offered an in-person hearing, was given the ten-game ban, the fifth suspension of his career. As a result, he forfeits more than $487K in salary as he qualifies under the repeat offender (meaning he’s fined ten games’ play, not ten days’ pay).
Hartman will remain under suspension during the appeal process. While it often takes longer than the duration of the appeal for it to be heard (meaning the appeal is primarily an attempt to recover some of the lost wages), that might not be the case for Hartman. With the NHL heading for a break next week due to the 4 Nations Face-Off, it’s quite possible the appeal will be heard during that time when he’ll have only missed three of the ten games.
This appeal will be heard by Commissioner Gary Bettman whose role will be to determine whether the decision was supported by clear and convincing evidence. If Hartman’s suspension is upheld or is reduced but remains six games or longer, Hartman can further appeal to a neutral arbitrator who would then have the final say.
Why would he think that it’s ok to appeal this it could of been more if the NHL wanted to put a stamp on this S*** . He is lucky that he was kicked out of that game.
For intentionally bashing a guy’s head into the ice, he’s lucky he only got suspended for 10 games.
Add a game on for appealing
the comments section can be mad but we know this is getting reduced to 7 or 8 games.
I thought the 10 games was harsh (based on precedent). I think it’s the right message to send to get stupid plays like that out of the game, and would have been fine if it set a new baseline for these types of plays, but it’s NHL Players Safety, so it’s definitely going down from 10 with the appeal.
I could argue ten games is not enough. The NHL has been distancing themselves from any notion of premeditated violence.
We have come a long way since May Day.
This wasn’t during an active play, so there is absolutely no excuse for this to happen.
If it was McDavids head, I am sure people would feel this isnt enough.
@Spaced-Cowboy – While McDavid probably wouldn’t have let it get that far, in the event that it would have, Ekholm, Nurse and Draisaitl would have stormed in and taken Hartman apart. The coroner would be looking over what’s left, saying, “WTF! Did this guy eat a bag of grenades???”
The fact that he was smiling as he left the ice says it all. He is beyond contempt and has zero conscience. The league should grow a set and make an example of him.
It was a ridiculous suspension, It should be closer to five games, But we know Uncle Gary took fighting out of the game, And now he wants to take contact out of the game, Rempe has been unfairly targeted by the league since day one, Solely because of his size, Welcome to Uncle Gary’s Disney On Ice!!!
How much did Bertuzzi get for much the same thing against Steve Moore back in the day? Hartman should receive about 75% of that. It’s not as targeted of a play, but its still a play the league should be eliminating. Stuetzle is lucky he wasn’t significantly injured. The NHL has a history of increasing suspensions based on the injury incurred. It’s time they stop basing the suspension based on the injury to the opposing player and enforce penalties based on the play. Enforcing a suspension on the play over the injury accrued will make players reconsider making those plays to begin with. Bertuzzi got 13 reg season games, and 7 playoff games (which usually equate to 2x the regular season equivalent). I think he should face a minimum 15 game suspension as a repeat offender based off the Bertuzzi one alone, let alone how the league has tried to clean up the game since. But they have already struck 10, and it will likely be reduced to 7-8 after his appeal.
But Hartman better be prepared for his next one. I suspect the league makes a serious example of him next time. Which probably won’t be more than a year away.
20 games.
@wreckage – Good comparison there. I don’t remember reading or hearing much about the proposed lawsuit or trial. The news kind of dried up or was swept under the rug. Moore’s hockey career was trashed, though, and Bertuzzi never really paid for his crime.
I started watching hockey in the early 80s. Nothing the NHL does makes sense anymore. The chances are equally as likely the suspension is upheld as it is reduced or increased. There is no precedent for anything from their perspective, it seems. Everything is a coin flip.
At least they get offsides right now, even if it takes 10 minutes, and especially when the eyelash offside has nothing to do with the scoring play. Congrats. You make the game so much better.