Ex-Blackhawk Forwards Suspension Reduced by Gary Bettman

According to a report from NHL PR, ex-Blackhawk Ryan Hartman has experienced some largesse from the front office.

Hartman is a repeat offender who has inflicted intentional harm on his opponents in multiple games and lashed out at referees in the past.

You'd think, that Hartman would learn from his mistakes, and more often than not they haven't.

Now, Gary Bettman is stepping in and instead of Hartman serving a full ten-game suspension, and now all the time he has to serve is eight games.

Bettman would write a 13-page piece detailing the ruling, and explain why Hartman's sentence would be reduced after his appeal.

He would explain during his affirmation of Hartman's appeal that a jump from three games, a typical sentence he'd receive from DPS to ten was excessive.

In an astounding conclusion put forth by Bettman, he called the "play" in which we saw Hartman slam Stutzle to the ice a "mere accident with an unfortunate outcome".

If you decide to peruse the 13-page ruling, you'll find lots of comparisons of Hartman's discipline to Evander Kane, Zac Rinaldo, and other players who could be considered needlessly aggressive on the ice.

With Bettman's latest ruling, Hartman will be allowed to return to the ice on March 4th against the Seattle Kraken.

Instead of appealing the latest ruling NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman posted this:

It appears now, that Hartman will be able to suit up once more and terrorize the ice in March.