Ryan Hartman has already lived through this cycle once in Minnesota, and now he’s right back in the same spot: easy to overlook, harder to replace.
That wasn’t the case when he first landed in St. Paul.
In 2019, the Wild were his fifth team in three years, even though he had already shown he could produce in the bottom six. Dallas had traded for him as a restricted free agent, then turned around and sent him back to the market.
Minnesota was the landing spot.
For a couple of seasons, Hartman did the dirty work on the Wild’s third and fourth lines. Then came the opening to skate with Kirill Kaprizov, and he made the most of it. Hartman scored 34 goals that season, still tied for ninth in franchise history, all while carrying a $1.7 million AAV.
That breakout changed everything. Two summers later, the Wild handed him a three-year, $12 million deal with a $4 million AAV, and that’s when the “overrated” talk started to creep in. Injuries and ugly suspensions only pushed him further out of favor, with fans and the organization alike.
Now the pendulum is swinging the other way.
National projections have Hartman and Danila Yurov essentially swapping places, with Hartman sliding to the third line and Yurov moving up to center Kaprizov. Nearly 5,000 Wild fans, in a plurality, want Yurov to take Hartman’s spot. Hockey Wilderness has made that case too.
But the numbers still point toward Hartman being the safer bet to start the season next to Kaprizov. He may not have the upside or the novelty of Yurov, but he remains a dependable scorer. He hasn’t matched that 34-goal peak again, though he has posted two 20-goal seasons in the last three years.
There’s a reason for that consistency. Hartman is one of the few Wild players who has consistently been able to get shots off at 5-on-5 over the past few seasons.
5-on-5 Shots Per Hour, Minnesota Wild, 2024-25 to present, 200-plus minutes:
Joel Eriksson Ek, 8.68
Matt Boldy, 8.65
RYAN HARTMAN, 7.93
Kirill Kaprizov, 7.55
Liam Öhgren, 7.06
That’s the whole list of Wild players over seven shots per hour across that span. Minnesota has had a hard time piling up shot volume in that stretch, and it only improved last year after Quinn Hughes ' arrival.
Taking Hartman off the top line could easily be a step backward in that department. Yurov, by comparison, managed just 4.96 shots per hour at 5-on-5 as a rookie.
Hartman also finished fourth on the team last season with 32 5-on-5 points, trailing Kaprizov, Boldy, and Marcus Johansson. He wasn’t just finishing chances, either. According to All Three Zones’ tracking data, only Kaprizov, Boldy, and Hartman were above average among Wild forwards in both creating and setting up scoring chances.
That matters when the conversation keeps circling back to who can feed Kaprizov.
Even with all that, Hartman has been on the trade block since at least the deadline, and for a while it looked like his $4 million cap hit might scare teams off, especially after his eight-game suspension in February 2025. But that calculus has shifted. His deal is looking like a bargain again, especially since his salary is $3 million, below the cap hit.
In a cap environment where Michael McCarron makes $3.33 million and is viewed as a discount, and Boone Jenner just landed $5.75 million on the open market, Hartman’s ability to handle a top-line center role, even temporarily, is real value.
None of this guarantees he stays there. Yurov could force the issue with a strong training camp.
Minnesota could still land Dylan Larkin, or another major center option. But until that happens, the Wild probably have the answer sitting right in front of them.
Hartman has been underestimated before, and Minnesota may be doing it again.
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Wild Camp Suddenly Centers On A Forward Battle That Really Matters
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That uncertainty puts extra weight on the forward group, where the organization is mixing established pieces with prospects trying to force their way in. Charlie Stramel and Hunter Haight are among the younger players competing for spots, and the Wild still have to figure out line chemistry and whether additions are needed before opening night. For a team that already knows what it has on defense, the next few weeks are really about finding out which forwards can make the group fit. [Read more 🡒]