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  • Ryan Hartman Needs To Figure Out What Type of Role He Is Going To Play


    Image courtesy of Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
    Justin Wiggins

     

    If the Minnesota Wild were a soap opera, they’d take home all the daytime Emmy Awards.

    From the jump, this season has been full of drama. Bad starts, mounting injuries, winning streaks, the losing streak, coach firings, internal investigations, and once-heralded prospects getting traded. The storylines haven’t stopped for a team trending closer to the basement of irrelevancy rather than a charge up the standings.

    This week has been no different. The Wild have found themselves at the forefront of headlines in the hockey world. In case you missed it, Minnesota entered last weekend facing off in a home-and-home series against the Winnipeg Jets, one of their geographically closest rivals, with a chance to tighten the gap in the Central Division standings.

    That didn’t happen. The Wild lost both games, and to make matters worse, they had a few critical injuries. Their star, Kirill Kaprizov, was the biggest loss after he received a few questionable cross-checks on Saturday. Minnesota looked to return the favor on Sunday, but how gritty winger Ryan Hartman responded has been highly scrutinized this week.

    There’s no need to go into more detail because nearly everyone here has seen the play, heard the press conferences, and most likely formed their own opinions. If not, you can find more on the controversy here, and here, and here, and here, and here. (Can someone say "blown out of proportion?")

    But as much as we’d love to continue the debate here, there was a different Ryan Hartman moment from that game in St. Paul on Sunday that nobody is talking about nearly enough. And Hartman’s probably feeling fortunate his antics with Cole Perfetti have stolen the spotlight away from one of the most egregious highlights to come out of that loss on Sunday.

    The play happened in the third period, with an extremely depleted Wild lineup playing a very good Jets squad tough all day. They’d grinded their way to a 2-2 tie with just under 13 minutes remaining in the game. Hartman took an ill-advised tripping minor (more on that later), and what followed was an embarrassing level of effort from Hartman, leading to Winnipeg's game-winning goal.

    For a player who just signed a contract extension that left many fans questioning Minnesota's rationale for such a deal, Hartman’s effort in that clip gave them a lot of ammo to work with. It’s simply not a play that should come from a guy his coaches and GM have labeled as a “glue guy” on the roster. For all the talk about Hartman’s supposed words and actions to Perfetti on Sunday, the highlight above should be circulating everywhere within the social media circles.

    Does this paint Hartman as a lazy player? No. But it’s that play, mixed with his penchant for taking bad penalties and his “toeing the line” type of dirty plays that have gotten him in trouble over the years. All that came together to raise the question: What kind of hockey player is Hartman trying to be, and (perhaps most importantly) what role will he play on this team moving forward?

    Make no mistake, Hartman has been an important player for the Wild almost since the moment he arrived. It was a perfect situation for him, a young, underachieving first-round draft pick who just needed a chance to prove his worth. And to his credit, he did.

    Even though almost everyone in hockey knew Hartman wasn’t a true No. 1 center, he was that guy for Minnesota. Lacking anything resembling strong depth down the middle, Hartman thrived between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Most of us overlooked the questionable hits and occasional lack of detail because he was anchoring the top line and scoring goals in bunches, all while on an extremely affordable contract.

    But now the Wild are transitioning to the next three to five years when their true contention window begins to open. Not only because the dead cap hits from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts are nearing their end, but because some of their top center prospects over the years have either just turned pro (Marco Rossi) or will shortly (Danila Yurov, Marat Khusnutdinov).

    Over the past few years, many outside Minnesota had discounted the Wild as true contenders because Hartman was their No. 1 center. And they were right. But even before his most recent extension, many Wild fans hoped their plethora of solid draft picks would develop just as the contention window opened. And sliding Hartman down into a middle-six glue guy is a good recipe for a contending team.

    The problem is that Hartman needs to start identifying his transition into his new role. The days of him centering the top line are likely over. His goal totals will probably never return to his time next to Kaprizov and Zuccarello. And that’s fine. But with a new contract that pays him $4 million per year, if Hartman isn’t going to score goals at the rate he used to, then those parts of his game we have often overlooked over the years must be cleaned up.

    You can’t pay a supposed leader on your team $4 million per season to not score as many goals and hurt your team with his own personal red carpet rolled out between the Wild bench and the penalty box. It's a player profile flirting with the likes of Matt Cooke.

    And Hartman surely can’t ever let that sort of blatant lack of effort show up on tape again.

    Hartman’s role has probably changed a year earlier than he imagined with Rossi's emergence this year. It’s time for him and the Wild to realize that and start cleaning up the parts of his game we’ve forgiven for too long.

     

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    As a charter member of the Ryan Hartman fan club I am not going to turn on him at this point.  I still believe he is a net positive in this lineup.

    (Sandpaper + finish + loyalty + hot streaks) > (dumb penalties + quitting on plays)

    It seems though that there is a spotlight on his warts this season.  This spotlight is beginning to bring the equation above more into balance.

    Memo to Ry-guy: be a pro bro.  Now that you have your contract (job security) don't get mentally lazy.  Continue to play with heart AND remain smart.

    If you begin to play like NoJo, that's a no-go.

    I'm not being a meanie when i say you could lose TOI to Luchinni.

    Edited by Pewterschmidt
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    I also like Hartman because he can score but is more of a hard guy to play against. I believe his years with Zuccarello and Kaprizov changed the way he plays, he's become more finesse. I believe Hartsy needs to get back to his roots and start playing with more grit.

    What that means is finishing checks, driving the net, and being an absolute pest. Dropping the mitts a little more might help. As for offense, he has too many misplays. He needs to work on the strength of that shot and eliminate so many of the flub/flutter shots we see from him. I also believe he used to skate harder. 

    Hartman's identity is a guy who is willing to go do the dirty work, the unpleasant things, and he seems to enjoy that. He'll pop in the secondary goals, and is probably good for 15-20 a year. But he's not that guy who potted 34. I still don't think he's fully healthy, especially on the right side upper body. It would be nice if he could re-strengthen that part. He is a menace to play against when fully healthy, and that is his reputation.

    Also, with his current contract, I can live with that. He's a middle 6 guy who can be elevated when needed, but really should be on the 3rd line. I also believe him to be a better wing, but could see him centering that 3rd line. 

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    Hartzy is, in an endering way, a piece of shit.

    And that's OK.  It seems like in the current NHL the old school enforcer role is gone from the game, but there is plenty of room for guys who are kinda a piece of shit on the ice. Guys who are able to stir up the pot enough to live rent free in the other teams heads, while also putting up points

    Say what you want about Marchand (shut your pie hole Craig) but the guy's an absolute pest, who's also damn near a point-per-game player over his entire 15 year career.

    Hate on Tom Wilson, but dude can actually play some hockey.  Look at the Thachucks. 

    The Wild need Hartzy to 'play on the edge' but they don't have any room for specialists right now.  If he's going to be a piece of shit, he also needs to play some damn good hockey.  Hartzy needs to also display the high-end talent that you'd expect out of a first round forward.

     

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    I guess this is as good a place as anywhere to comment on last night's game. For starters, and keeping with the theme of the article, Hartman gets the only assist on the game tying goal. He carried the puck in, had patience, waited for Johansson to cut in and delivered a perfect pass to him for Johansson to shovel the puck into the net. Nicely done sir!

    Both teams were reportedly beaten up. This was one of those wins which was stolen. Will it mean much? It might if we can split the home and home with Dallas. After a quick look at the standings, if the season ended today, we'd be drafting 6th. 

    Observations from last night's game were:

    1. Boldy answered the bat signal. He needed to and needs to keep this up.
    2. Goligoski is really slow. After he got beat in the 3rd period flat footed in the neutral zone, Zuccarello passed him up to interfere a bit with the 2-1 shot. Goligoski lost about a stride with each stride he took. I think if he were to retire tomorrow, we'd still be on the hook for his cap number. The 2 year signing at $2m was a huge mistake.
    3. We won this game, but Jon Merrill, I believe, played himself into the A last night. We'd be better off penciling in Hunt for the rest of the season. Sure, he'll make mistakes, but, at least, he'll learn from them. 
    4. On another Merrill note, if you're going to drop the mitts, don't just take shots without throwing any punches, why even bother to drop them anyway, maybe then you don't get the roughing minor (which was embarrassing considering Olivier threw several punches).
    5. Faber is really good. For all you Addison apologists, and why Addison was so valuable to this team because of his PP numbers, he has 7 assists working the PP all season long. Faber was recently added to the PP and has 1-4-5. I'd say he has replaced Addison on the PP sufficiently! A 3 point night last night, wow.
    6. Out of all the players who could have scored in OT, Rossi needed that goal the most. With Kaprizov out, Boldy needs a Robin, and Rossi is the leading candidate for that role.
    7. I hope Raska sticks around for the Dallas series. I have a feeling that will be where our meltdown comes. 
    8. Petan showed why he is not a full time NHLer. Benched in the 1st period after allowing Sillenger to beat him to that spot. He'll probably be sent back down today. Maybe Beckman is healthy?
    9. How long can Fleury keep starting without a break? Until he breaks I suppose. Nice to see him tie for 2nd place in wins all time. I thought he played well having essentially no chance on the 3 goals.
    10. We did not beat a good team. We barely beat a bad team. Our team is in serious trouble if playoffs are the goal. We may be done by the allstar break.

    If we are done by the allstar break, should John Hynes start overhauling the current system and implementing his? I would think getting a jump start on this might pay off later. I certainly hope he is practicing the guys hard every chance he gets, and by hard, I don't necessarily mean physically, I mean with a lot of teaching and emphasis on what he wants to see. 

    Lastly, does Russo or Smith give us updates on injuries within the organization? I'd love to know updates on The Wall, Beckman, Milne and Hentges. It'd also be nice to know how Shaw is progressing? I don't know about you guys, but I would think that in between periods should include updates on the Baby Wild. 

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    Good news, The Wall is back playing for the Baby Wild. He played Friday and Saturday night. Bad news, he didn't do so well, giving up 4 and 3 with sv% below .900 

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    Nice assist by Grizzle last night on the Mojo goal to tie the CBJ game at 3. Anybody that can turn NoJo to Mojo even for a flash is a necessary player in my opinion.

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    3 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

    Observations

    Pretty much agree with everything, especially the eye test on Goligoski and Merrill... question is, why doesn't the coach?  It's not only obvious but painfully obvious.

    Another painfully obvious thing is that our team is soft.  When #51 comes in.. a nobody afterthought from the Addison trade... and instantly looks like the best call up of the year in a matter of 2 shifts, then it really exposes our lack of size and to be honest lack of emphasis in drafting size and a general lack of appreciation for size and strength in putting together our bottom six as well as defense.

    I mean Bogosian has been such an upgrade over Addison that I cannot believe that anyone is still a protagonist for Addison.  Bogosian isn't that fast or skilled but just gets it done due to size and attitude and experience.  

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    4 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

    I guess this is as good a place as anywhere to comment on last night's game. For starters, and keeping with the theme of the article, Hartman gets the only assist on the game tying goal. He carried the puck in, had patience, waited for Johansson to cut in and delivered a perfect pass to him for Johansson to shovel the puck into the net. Nicely done sir!

    Both teams were reportedly beaten up. This was one of those wins which was stolen. Will it mean much? It might if we can split the home and home with Dallas. After a quick look at the standings, if the season ended today, we'd be drafting 6th. 

    Observations from last night's game were:

    1. Boldy answered the bat signal. He needed to and needs to keep this up.
    2. Goligoski is really slow. After he got beat in the 3rd period flat footed in the neutral zone, Zuccarello passed him up to interfere a bit with the 2-1 shot. Goligoski lost about a stride with each stride he took. I think if he were to retire tomorrow, we'd still be on the hook for his cap number. The 2 year signing at $2m was a huge mistake.
    3. We won this game, but Jon Merrill, I believe, played himself into the A last night. We'd be better off penciling in Hunt for the rest of the season. Sure, he'll make mistakes, but, at least, he'll learn from them. 
    4. On another Merrill note, if you're going to drop the mitts, don't just take shots without throwing any punches, why even bother to drop them anyway, maybe then you don't get the roughing minor (which was embarrassing considering Olivier threw several punches).
    5. Faber is really good. For all you Addison apologists, and why Addison was so valuable to this team because of his PP numbers, he has 7 assists working the PP all season long. Faber was recently added to the PP and has 1-4-5. I'd say he has replaced Addison on the PP sufficiently! A 3 point night last night, wow.
    6. Out of all the players who could have scored in OT, Rossi needed that goal the most. With Kaprizov out, Boldy needs a Robin, and Rossi is the leading candidate for that role.
    7. I hope Raska sticks around for the Dallas series. I have a feeling that will be where our meltdown comes. 
    8. Petan showed why he is not a full time NHLer. Benched in the 1st period after allowing Sillenger to beat him to that spot. He'll probably be sent back down today. Maybe Beckman is healthy?
    9. How long can Fleury keep starting without a break? Until he breaks I suppose. Nice to see him tie for 2nd place in wins all time. I thought he played well having essentially no chance on the 3 goals.
    10. We did not beat a good team. We barely beat a bad team. Our team is in serious trouble if playoffs are the goal. We may be done by the allstar break.

    If we are done by the allstar break, should John Hynes start overhauling the current system and implementing his? I would think getting a jump start on this might pay off later. I certainly hope he is practicing the guys hard every chance he gets, and by hard, I don't necessarily mean physically, I mean with a lot of teaching and emphasis on what he wants to see. 

    Lastly, does Russo or Smith give us updates on injuries within the organization? I'd love to know updates on The Wall, Beckman, Milne and Hentges. It'd also be nice to know how Shaw is progressing? I don't know about you guys, but I would think that in between periods should include updates on the Baby Wild. 

    Nailed it again. Merrill gives traffic cones a bad name. He was not good last year but has regressed so far from that he may be a doppelgänger. Raska didn't show much offensively but certainly played a big boy game. He looks big but I don't know if he is.

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    17 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

    Lastly, does Russo or Smith give us updates on injuries within the organization?

    Unfortunately no. NHL teams let out 0 information about. Injuries.

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    7 hours ago, FredJohnson said:

    Unfortunately no. NHL teams let out 0 information about. Injuries.

    Sadly, you'd think the A would be a little more forthcoming. Especially in progress, like, is Beckman skating yet, is his return imminent? What the hell happened to Milne to keep him out this long? No, instead we just have to notice when a player shows back up on the stat sheet.

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