Wild's Ryan Hartman fined $4,250 for slew-footing Lightning's Ross Colton
Some will say that Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman got away with a slap-on-the-wrist punishment for a crime worthy of a suspension committed during Sunday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In the first period of the contest, Hartman was assessed a minor penalty for tripping when he took Tampa Bay forward Ross Colton down from behind via what certainly appeared to be a dirty move:
On Monday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Hartman has been fined $4,250 for slew-footing Colton. That is the maximum financial penalty allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
According to TSN, Colton suffered no injury related to the incident, and that may have helped Hartman avoid a short ban. To compare, San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc was suspended one game without pay last week for slew-footing St. Louis Blues forward Tyler Bozak. That moment cost Labanc $23,625.
The 11-6-1 Wild next play at the 8-5-3 New Jersey Devils on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the 10-4-3 Lightning host the 8-5-3 Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
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