Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Hartman Caught on Mic Citing Planned Payback on Cole Perfetti

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | Last updated 1/2/24

In a recent revelation by Winnipeg Jets’ Cole Perfetti, a contentious incident between himself and Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman — one in which Hartman high-sticked him intentionally in the face and admitted doing so — was caught on audio. Perfetti has taken center stage on Tuesday after telling media, including Winnipeg Jets’ News reporter Mike McIntyre he’s got the entire conversation recorded.

According to McIntyre, Hartman openly admitted to intentionally high-sticking Perfetti in the face as a form of retribution for a preceding play involving Brenden Dillon and Kirill Kaprizov. It was a play Perfetti had nothing to do with.

Ryan Hartman of the Wild has been fined the maximum by @NHLPlayerSafety for high-sticking Cole Perfetti of the Jets.https://t.co/1MKKiY0piI
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) January 2, 2024

The astonishing twist that Hartman either didn’t know (or didn’t care) that Perfetti was equipped with a microphone during the game, makes this all the more fascinating. Capturing Hartman’s confession in real-time, it appears that Hartman’s retaliation was a direct response on an innocent player and proof to the league that the high stick was on purpose. As a consequence of his actions, Ryan Hartman has been fined $4,427.08, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), for high-sticking Cole Perfetti.

Perfetti Didn’t Tell His Teammates At the Time

Jets’ coach Rick Bowness revealed that Perfetti chose to keep Hartman’s deliberate high-stick comments to himself until after the game. Bowness expressed that handling the situation during the game would have led to a different course of action and likely a lot more rough stuff. Instead, Perfetti had no plan but to play the game and tell the team afterwards, hoping the league would take care of it.

It’s debatable if a fine is enough.

This marks the seventh time Hartman has faced fines in his career. Notably, his track record includes three suspensions, with two occurring since the beginning of April and one approximately a month ago. As SDPN’s Steve Dangle points out, the statistical peculiarity emerges as Hartman has been fined or suspended at least once every 53.6 games throughout his 536-game career.