Minnesota Wild’s Ryan Hartman suspended 2 games for slew-footing Red Wings’ Alex DeBrincat

Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman received a two-game suspension Monday after slew-footing Detroit Red Wings goal scorer Alex DeBrincat in Sunday’s 4-1 loss at Detroit. Here’s what you need to know:

Hartman was deemed a repeat offender after being suspended for one game in April for interference on Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers. That means he was suspended based on games in a season rather than days.
Based on his salary, Hartman will lose $20,731.70 per game or $41,463.41 in total.
This is Hartman’s third suspension in his 10-year career. The NHL says he has also been fined six previous times.
Hartman will miss games this week against St. Louis and at Nashville.

Hartman slew foots DeBrincat – no call on that play, but Detroit is penalized for DeBrincat's retaliation. #LGRW
— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) November 26, 2023

How much of a bind does this put the Wild in?

A big one for a team that has lost seven in a row. The Wild only have enough cap space to afford another $822,000 hockey player from the minors. So unless the Wild go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen Tuesday against the Blues, the Wild will have to recall a forward and eat into most of their available cap space during Hartman’s suspension.

Additionally, during Hartman’s absence, the Wild will be a short-term injury away from having to play short one player for one game (they did that in a win at Montreal last month) before going into an emergency recall situation that will allow them to recall players making $875,000 or less (league minimum salary plus $100,000). Hartman, who plays on the edge and sometimes crosses the line, will have to be squeaky clean for another 18 months until his repeat offender status expires.

"I don't think it mattered if we got 50 [shots]. We're not finding ways to score goals." #MNWild forward Ryan Hartman says "enough talk" after Minnesota's seventh loss in a row.
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) November 26, 2023