SEATTLE — Ryan Hartman had been practicing with the Minnesota Wild for a month, but he knew the sarcastic banter would come from his teammates the moment he took the ice Tuesday morning.
After 31 days of not being allowed to play for the Wild, Hartman’s eight-game suspension was finally lifted and he’d be returning later that night against the Seattle Kraken.
Led by captain Jared Spurgeon and alternate captain Marcus Foligno, Hartman received a bunch of cheers, whistles, hooting and hollering when he first rushed up the ice during the Wild’s morning skate like he was a rookie playing in the show for the first time or a veteran coming off a month-long injury.
“I think Flower was trying to let me score, too … and I missed the net,” Hartman deadpanned.
It was hard watching for Hartman, especially when he was completely healthy and getting run through the wringer by the Wild’s assistant coaches, strength and conditioning coaches and skating and skills coach. The 13-day 4 Nations Face-Off break made his fifth career suspension and fourth since April 2023 feel like an eternity, even though NHL commissioner Gary Bettman gave him a couple games back by reducing his original 10-game suspension after he cut his vacation short and testified in front of nearly two dozen people during an appeal hearing last month in Montreal.
Hartman has met with the big boss, Bill Guerin, and has been told it’s essential he be on his best behavior from now on after his latest league discipline for driving Ottawa’s Tim Stützle’s head into the ice. He has been talked to by coach John Hynes, who wants him to keep his nose clean and contribute to a team that must play for the foreseeable future without injured Joel Eriksson Ek.
“He is needed. We need him to commit,” Hynes said. “Obviously he’s had the break, and I know he’s worked hard, but we need him to come in and be an impact player right away. The good thing is I think you see a player that’s hungry and wants to get back and I think he wants to help the team the best he can, and he can do that by playing at the top of his game.”
Hartman, 30, wants to do just that and played a strong game during Tuesday’s 4-3 win against the Kraken. He assisted on Spurgeon’s goal and had three shots, another two attempted, a takeaway and six faceoff wins. He now has seven goals and 18 points in 49 games.
GO DEEPER
In a tale of two halves, Wild bend but don’t break against Kraken: 4 takeaways
“You always want to be an impact, especially missing key guys,” Hartman said of a Wild team also missing superstar Kirill Kaprizov and top-four defenseman Jonas Brodin. “We’re going to need a little more from everybody. It’s a good opportunity for people. I want to help this team as much as possible, and it’s a very important time right now.
“I was talking earlier to some of the guys. We want to kind of build our identity moving forward from what we already have. Coming into playoffs, we want to make sure our game’s right where we need it to be.”
Captain Jared Spurgeon 🚨 #mnwild pic.twitter.com/m1AeXj9mDZ
— MN State of Hockey (@MinnesotaSOH) March 5, 2025
Hartman has also done his share of self-reflection and realizes he must recognize when he’s reaching his boiling point and rein it in. It was interesting that Guerin last week also said it’s up to Hartman’s teammates to calm him down when he’s starting to seethe.
“That’s a responsibility that we all have, that we can all help him,” Guerin said. “But there’s no more leeway.”
“I just gotta go play hockey,” Hartman said. “Stay away from things. I’m still going to be physical, still going to be engaged physically. Obviously I gotta clean some things up and look in the mirror at times and see that it’s not fun to be sitting on the sidelines.
“I’m my biggest (critic). I understand the game of hockey and when I’m playing well and not playing well and when things affect other people. I want to be a leader on this team, and I think I am, and I need to play the game, play it hard, play it the right way.”
One of the neatest parts of Tuesday’s game for Hartman was playing on a line with Foligno and Vinnie Hinostroza, one of his childhood best friends and his former teammate on the Rockford IceHogs and Chicago Blackhawks. Hinostroza, 30, was a groomsman in Hartman’s wedding two summers ago and coincidentally was claimed off waivers from Nashville last month because Minnesota needed a forward when Hartman was disciplined by the NHL.
You know it’s a small hockey world when Hartman’s transgression landed his best bud an NHL job with another organization rather than him sliding through waivers and being assigned to AHL Milwaukee. Hinostroza scored his fourth goal in eight games with the Wild on Tuesday.
“It was super special for us to start our pro careers together and to be able to do it a second time is really special,” Hinostroza said.
Vinnie Hinostroza breaks the ice for Minnesota on the power play!#mnwild pic.twitter.com/X9GI47tc0e
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 5, 2025
Their friendship began around 8 years old when they were playing on different mite teams — Hartman for the Crystal Lake Leafs and Hinostroza for the Chicago Blues. Hartman’s team beat Hinostroza’s team for a state AA mites championship.
They then joined forces on the Chicago Mission, where they played together for years and won several state peewee and bantam titles. They even played football together on the Bloomingdale Bears. Hartman was a nose tackle, kicker and fullback, while Hinostroza played running back and outside linebacker.
Hartman went to the U.S. National Team Development Program, Hinostroza to Waterloo in the USHL. They’d both be drafted by their hometown Blackhawks a year apart. In 2014, they were World Junior teammates. In Chicago, they lived together, were roommates on the road and, for a while, played on the same line with Marian Hossa.
Heck, they even look like each other.
“That’s what guys have said,” Hartman said. “Especially when I wasn’t in the room, guys were saying they thought I was in here. … We both went our own ways for a while, and now we’re back together. I’ve been excited that he’s been here. Obviously it was tough because I wasn’t able to play right when he got here. But I’m going to take advantage of this, for sure.”
Since playing together in Chicago, both have gotten married and had kids. Hinostroza has three, while Hartman’s first was born last August. Hinostroza’s family has joined him in Minnesota, and he said the coolest part of being teammates again with Hartman has been his three little ones finally getting to meet Hartman’s son, Keyes.
“It’s something that you don’t see happen too often,” Hinostroza said of childhood friends playing together twice in the NHL and again being linemates. “So hopefully we can keep our chemistry going, put together some really good games here, and work toward playoffs. Battling with a team is extra special, and when you’re doing it with one of your best friends, it’s super cool, too.
“We’ve come full circle, and hopefully we can build something here and stick around a little longer.”
Hartman has two years left on his contract and Hinostroza has one, so there’s a chance this isn’t short-term.
“All I think about right now is just day to day,” Hinostroza said. “You got to earn your opportunities. Hynesie’s put me in good spots to let my game flourish and let my talents come out. So I’m just trying to take it day by day. Like I told you guys before, I think I could still play in this league and I think my best hockey’s in front of me, so I’m just trying to prove it every day and continue to get better.”
Hartman looks like a man ready for a fresh start. He’s coming off what felt like a mini-training camp and is so committed to being better that this past Sunday, when the Wild had an afternoon game against Boston and the team had no early ice for him to skate on, Hartman found his own ice in Eden Prairie to make sure he wasn’t taking a day off and working on “game situation stuff just to make sure I was ready for live action.”
Could Hartman and Hinostroza’s friendship lead to chemistry on the ice?
“I think so,” Hinostroza said. “He’s always been a great player, hard player. Hard to play against. He gets to the dirty areas. He’s got a really good shot, and he can make plays. So I feel like I know his game better than a lot of people. So just knowing in certain instances where he’s going to be or the communication on the bench, it should make it a little bit easier.
“He’s been working his tail off on the ice. He’s really excited to get back in the mix.”
(Photos: Stephen R. Sylvanie and Matt Blewett / Imagn Images)
