Right winger Ryan Hartman ventured along the Manitoba-Ontario border in late June for a fishing trip as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.
But before his expedition even wrapped up, he became a free agent after getting traded to the Dallas Stars — the start of a whirlwind week for the 24-year-old that ended with him joining the Wild on Monday after signing a two-year, $3.8 million contract.
"I think that this has worked out really well for me," he said.
This entire year has been a busy one for Hartman.
After starting the season with the Predators, his second stop in the NHL after debuting and playing parts of four seasons with the Blackhawks, Hartman was shipped to the Flyers at the trade deadline, before getting moved again on June 24 to the Stars.
Despite telling the world on Twitter he was "heading off the grid," Hartman got word of the trade while on his fishing excursion and was in contact with his agent. He also learned Dallas wouldn't issue him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
"We weighed options, kind of talked about which teams would be better fits than others," Hartman recalled. "It was nice to be up there, too, because there was only dialogue between some close friends and my agent. There was no background noise. I couldn't check media. I couldn't check anything, so it was kind of nice to just have a clear mind through this whole process."
Once Hartman became available, the Wild was intrigued and Hartman saw an opportunity to fill a niche as someone who is hard to play against, can make life difficult on the opponent and skates as an agitator with the ability to draw penalties and swing momentum.
