In what has become a repeated refrain in looking back on the 2023-24 season, Ryan Hartman was another Minnesota Wild player who fell off his scoring trend and couldn’t get out of his slump. This year, he’s one of the middle six players who will be expected to improve, especially after being called out by name last year.
Last Season
Hartman managed to play almost the entire season last year, finishing with 74 games. Unfortunately, his ability to put up points did not keep pace with the amount of games he played. After his career year in 2021-22 where he scored 65 points (34 goals and 31 assists), he put up just over half that amount of points in 2022-23. That season, however, he only played 59 games. This past season, he played 15 more games but only put up 8 more points.
Strengths
Hartman’s game has a few aspects that make him an interesting player. First of all, he’s definitely the biggest rat that the Wild have. He is not afraid to get under the skin of an opposing player. He also, in a good year, can put up a decent amount of points. Combining those two skills and adding in an okay faceoff percentage makes Hartman stand out as a unique player.
The Wild are well-known for their close locker room and Hartman is a great example of that. Many times when he ends up in trouble, it is because he’s coming to the defense of one of his teammates. When he tried to fight Evander Kane and ended up being fined for flipping Kane the bird on national television, it was after Kane tried to mess with Kirill Kaprizov. There was no way that Hartman was going to let that fly.
Weaknesses
Hartman’s biggest weakness is his need to constantly toe the line of getting called for a penalty. Now, being a rat means that he has to play that style, but Hartman seems to take it too far, too often. He is known as a repeat offender to NHL Player Safety and he has had numerous suspensions and fines in the past few years. Obviously, numerous suspensions and penalties affect the entire team, putting them down a man during a game or having to fill in his spot with a player who might not be as experienced while he serves his suspensions.
Next Season
The 2024-25 season is the first in Hartman’s $12 million contract extension. That means that on top of needing to make up for the past two seasons of lower scoring, Hartman will need to show the team and fans that he is worth his $4 million cap hit. He’ll also have to figure out his place in the lineup. With a few other centers in the mix (like Freddy Gaudreau, Marco Rossi, and Marat Khusnutdinov, but not counting Joel Eriksson Ek who has more than earned his top-line position), Hartman will most likely land on the second or third line. But if he isn’t careful, Head Coach John Hynes seems like the kind of coach who isn’t afraid to demote a veteran player if needed.
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