Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman allegedly admitted that he intentionally high-sticked Winnipeg Jets winger Cole Perfetti in the face on Sunday.
Hartman hit Perfetti in the face after a faceoff early in Minnesota's 3-2 loss to the Jets. The NHL Department of Player Safety issued the Wild forward a $4,427.08 fine for the high stick, the maximum allowed. It is Hartman's seventh fine in his career.
Perfetti told Winnipeg media Tuesday morning that Hartman said he deliberately high-sticked him in the face as payback for Brenden Dillon's cross-checks to Kirill Kaprizov's back a day earlier.
"[Hartman] made it pretty obvious. He said it in, kind of, a respectful way, he said, 'No disrespect. Nothing against you. Just something had to happen for what happened to Kaprizov,'" Perfetti recalled. "[Kaprizov] is obviously going to be out for a bit. I don't think Dillon was trying to hurt him, was just playing heavy. That play happened. You know, [Hartman] wasn't trying to be a bad guy. I think he was just, you know, that's what he thought he needed to do to get back at us."
"Kind of a weird thing to come out and admit it," Perfetti continued. "He blatantly said it was for what happened, even though I didn't even do anything in the play."
Winnipeg head coach Rick Browness said Tuesday that Perfetti kept Hartman's comments to himself throughout the game and that "it would have been dealt with much differently had the team known during the game."
Kaprizov was cross-checked twice by Dillon and ended up missing the final 10 minutes of the Dec. 30 loss to the Jets. The star winger has been labeled as 'week to week' by Minnesota head coach John Hynes.
An injury-depleted Wild squad are back in action Tuesday against the Calgary Flames. Puck drop is set for 7:10 p.m. CT. in St. Paul.
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