NHL Player Safety confirms massive suspension coming for Hartman.

The National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety is preparing to throw the book at Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman.

On Sunday, the disciplinary arm of the NHL announced that Hartman had been offered an in person hearing as a result of a dirty play on Saturday night. An in person hearing is reserved for when the league intends to suspend a player for more than 5 games, which indicates that Hartman is headed for a huge suspension here.

There won't be much to argue in this situation for Hartman either as this appeared to be a clear intent to injure on his part.

During Saturday night's game between the Wild and Ottawa Senators, Hartman would drive the head of Senators forward Tim Stutzle down into the ice immediately following a face-off draw. Hartman placed his arm on the back of Stutzle's head and appeared to drive him down to the ice with the full weight of his body, busting Stutzle's head open in the process.

Hartman was ejected from the game over the incident with the officials on the ice determining that this had been a clear attempt to injure Stutzle, and today's news from Player Safety would suggest that the league views the incident the same way as their officials did.

This is a less than ideal scenario for the Wild with the 4 Nations Face-Off just around the corner. Hartman's suspension will force the Wild to keep him on their roster, he cannot serve his suspension while in the American Hockey League for example, and they will have to do so for an extended period of time due to the fact that there won't be any NHL games for Hartman to miss during the tournament.

Stay tuned for more details on this developing story.