The Ryan Hartman Redemption Arc Is In Full Swing

Not even three months ago, it felt like Ryan Hartman was on thin ice.

The Minnesota Wild's agitator ran through the patience of the Department of Player Safety, earning a 10-game suspension (reduced to eight on appeal). The offending play -- driving Tim Stützle's head into the ice on a face-off -- was unnecessary on every level. It was at the end of a period of a 0-3 game against a player who is hardly a tough guy, and as the league determined, "not a hockey play."

But even though George Parros and Co. took away about a tenth of his salary, he was the least of Hartman's worries. His fanbase lost their patience with him, and so did his general manager.

"No more wiggle room," said Bill Guerin after the suspension. "Ryan is a good player. Not too many guys play his brand of hockey, but he’s got to do a better job of not crossing the line. He knows it."

Coming from Guerin, those are strong words. The GM will deliver tough love bluntly; that's not a surprise. What is surprising is that Guerin would reach a breaking point with someone like Hartman. He and Marcus Foligno are Bill Guerin Players, in the sense that they play the most like Guerin did during his career. Power forwards who can agitate, fight, and play with an edge are gold to him.

But there's a limit, even for Guerin.

Where was it leading to? Who could guess? A trade? But what value would he have if his grit and league discipline issues became too much of a headache for Guerin? A buyout? That would feel extreme, especially since the Wild are just about to be done with their recent buyout hardships. So the only clean way out of this was for Hartman to get back and fly right.

What a difference four playoff games makes, huh?

The versatile Wild forward has put all talk and speculation about his future in the rearview mirror. He's registered an assist in each of his four games, and that's hardly the only impact he's making in the series. While Hartman has no goals, it's not from a lack of trying, as he's been whipping the puck at Adin Hill from every direction.

Entering Sunday, Hartman was tied with Cale Makar for the most shot attempts at 5-on-5 (29). Only Brady Tkachuk (21) has more unblocked attempts than Hartman's 19. Those shots haven't found paydirt, but they've nonetheless been productive. Three of Hartman's four assists have come directly from the chaos following an attempt.

That alone is probably enough to get back into the good graces of the Wild and the State of Hockey. However, what's better is that he's playing a much smarter, disciplined brand of hockey than we're accustomed to. 

And it's not like the Vegas Golden Knights aren't trying to goad him into losing his cool. Vegas is throwing every extra-cirricular, after-the-whistle tactic they have at him, especially since the referees aren't looking to give Hartman the benefit of the doubt.

An extra shove during board battles, a little trip here and there, a punch to the face behind the net. Heck, Vegas' go-ahead goal in the third period only happened because Tomas Hertl drove Hartman into the ice -- what some rulebooks might call "interference" -- allowing Mark Stone to bank it off Hertl's posterior.

But even with Hartman under scrutiny (even if the hands, sticks, and full-body tackles directed toward him aren't), he's not retaliated or gone to the penalty box. Other than scoring, the No. 1 thing any Wild player can do to help the team's cause is not take a penalty. Vegas has a superior power play to Minnesota -- a dynamic that's played out this series -- and the Wild have a poor penalty kill. Therefore, it's important not to make this series a special teams battle.

There's a happy medium with Hartman. Minnesota needs his physicality, but they need him to curb his edge so that he can stay on the ice and stay productive offensively. He's doing exactly that right now, and if that balance continues, Hartman will have totally redeemed himself to the Wild and its fans.