Wild center Ryan Hartman has new baby and new contract, but familiar linemates

Ryan Hartman functions just fine on little sleep.

The Wild forward will stay up until midnight and be awake by 5 a.m. But his first few nights with his newborn son?

“Rough,” Hartman said. “Being up all night, taking him for 6 a.m. or even 5 a.m. car rides to give Mom some sleep. Yeah, it’s a little bit of a whirlwind.”

Keyes is now a month old, and he’s been sleeping five hours at a time.

Hartman enjoys pushing Keyes in the stroller on their walks around the neighborhood while his wife, Lauren, goes to the grocery store.

“I’m pretty excited for him to be able to hold his neck up on his own,” Hartman said.

A different milestone is happening in Hartman’s work life.

He’s kicking off the most lucrative contract of his career, a three-year, $12 million deal signed last fall that coincides with an opportunity to raise his profile on the ice.

After a self-described “up-and-down” season, Hartman is getting a chance at training camp to reclaim the role he had when he was most valuable to the Wild.

“I want whatever’s best for this team to be successful,” Hartman said. “I’ll play goalie if that’s where our team has the best-case scenario to win hockey games.”

This has been Hartman’s M.O. in the NHL.

He was a first-round draft pick by Chicago and scored 19 goals in his first full season but signed with the Wild in 2019 as a fourth-line forechecker. But his responsibilities expanded beyond blocking shots and killing penalties, with a move from right wing to center revealing more of his repertoire.

In 2021-22, he set career highs in goals (34), assists (31) and points (65) while centering Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello.

Only one of his goals came on the power play, making him one of the NHL’s most productive even-strength finishers that season, and his seven game-winners tied for tops on the Wild.

But during the Wild’s early slump last season, Hartman was moved down the lineup, and eventually, a new No. 1 line took over.

Still, Hartman racked up 21 goals and 24 assists.

“There were some really good stretches [and] some lulls,” said Hartman, who turned 30 on Friday. “I think I can continue to score in the mid-20s, high 20s, even in the 30s. I have that capability.”

Being reunited with Kaprizov and Zuccarello is like riding a bike for Hartman, who focuses on being strong defensively when they’re together and supplying the two wingers with the puck and space.

Coach John Hynes has said the Wild will experiment with the top line — Marco Rossi will get a turn to center Kaprizov and Zuccarello — so Hartman will be on the move, again.

“I want Hartzy to play fast, play smart, use his competitive nature in the right way, help us to be able to produce offense and be a guy that we can rely on in key situations — regardless of who he plays with,” Hynes said.

To do that, Hartman has to be available.

While he was in the penalty box less last season than his previous two campaigns, Hartman was in trouble with the NHL on multiple occasions. He was suspended two games for a trip, fined for high-sticking a Winnipeg player after Kaprizov was injured in a previous game against the Jets and suspended another three games for unsportsmanlike conduct after throwing his stick on the ice following a Wild loss.

Overall, Hartman has been suspended four times and fined for seven infractions.

“If it’s throwing a stick on the ice after the game, that’s a very preventable, unnecessary incident that is avoidable,” he said. “Obviously, the other side of it, I’m still going to try to make sure guys don’t take liberties with our top players.”

With the Wild, Hartman has been a jack of all trades.

Based on his assignment at camp, it’s clear where he could make the most impact on the team right now.

“Obviously, playing with Kirill and Zuccy, I think I can be very productive,” Hartman said. “When we are there together and I’m finding those scoring areas, I think I’m very opportunistic when it comes to getting pucks and scoring opportunities.”