Wild’s Ryan Hartman says he didn’t intend to injure Tim Stützle; Joel Eriksson Ek lands on IR

Ryan Hartman was well aware of Gary Bettman’s track record and how rare it is for the NHL commissioner to shorten suspensions.

But that’s exactly what Bettman did Monday, trimming Hartman’s 10-game suspension for roughing Ottawa’s Tim Stützle to eight games to make the forward eligible to return next Tuesday at Seattle.

“I didn’t really expect a whole lot,” Hartman said Tuesday while publicly addressing the suspension for the first time. “I know Gary hasn’t in the past reduced much. Obviously, we gave our best case, what we thought was right, and he sat back and had a few days to go over it.

“I think he agreed with what we brought to him, and it’s nice to get those two games back.”

Hartman was ejected during the 6-0 loss to the Senators on Feb. 1 for intent to injure and later was handed his fifth suspension for “using his forearm to violently slam” Stützle’s head into the ice after the two squared off for a faceoff.

He said he was surprised by the length of the suspension, which is why Hartman appealed. His side noted other roughing suspensions that never went over six games and cited players with similar disciplinary histories who were either given a shorter ban for their fifth or sixth suspensions or a longer one that didn’t escalate as much as Hartman’s. Bettman called the seven-game increase from Hartman’s last suspension “excessive.”

“No one wants to see someone’s head hit the ice and face hit the ice,” Hartman said. “That wasn’t my end goal in the moment. It’s a battle for a faceoff, for an important faceoff with little time left in the period in our own zone. I guess a bad decision that had a bad result. My intent wasn’t the result of what happened.”

Earlier in the game, Hartman and Stützle were penalized for roughing and slashing each other, respectively, with Hartman getting an extra penalty for embellishment.

Asked if that had any effect on what happened at the faceoff, Hartman said no, that if he had any frustration it was with the penalty and that he “didn’t really know who the faceoff was against.”

Bettman believed eight games should be a “wake-up call” for Hartman to make “positive changes to his game,” and Hartman said he spoke to Bettman and George Parros, the former NHLer who heads the league’s department of player safety.

“He gets it. It’s hockey,” said Hartman, who would have been docked $487,804.90 in salary if the 10-game suspension held. “Things happen out there, and it’s an emotional game. I want to focus on being a good teammate, winning hockey games for this club and for the city and making a big playoff push.”

While Hartman began serving the last four games of his suspension, the Wild roster was in flux.

Joel Eriksson Ek went on injured reserve ahead of Tuesday’s game vs. Detroit at Xcel Energy Center because of a lower-body injury after the center “didn’t feel good” following practice Monday. Eriksson Ek will be out “a few weeks, for sure,” coach John Hynes said.

“It wasn’t like one thing that happened where it was like, OK, this happened,” Hynes continued. “I was a little bit surprised when I got the news.”

Eriksson Ek’s exit was offset by Jakub Lauko’s return, the winger back after missing three games because of a lower-body injury.

That was the third time Lauko has been sidelined this season, his latest issue related to the others, he said, and a situation he might need to look at in the offseason.

“I’ve never been like this that I play a couple games, get hurt again, heal up, get hurt again,” Lauko said. “It’s something new, and it’s not easy. But I just gotta work and we got like 25 games left, so I’m aiming to be healthy for all those and help the team.”

The Wild are still without leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov, whose recovery from surgery on his lower-body injury is taking longer than expected, and the team placed defenseman Travis Dermott on waivers to gain flexibility.

While on suspension, Hartman still occupies a roster spot.

He’ll stay behind during the team’s upcoming road trip to Utah and Colorado to go through more intense training in preparation for his return.

“I’m looking forward to getting back,” Hartman said. “The guys are playing well, and I’ve got four games left here and have been skating and getting myself so I hit the ground running when I’m back. And looking forward to this last push here with 20-some games left.”