After missing the last 20 games with a shoulder injury, Ryan Hartman appears to be on the verge of returning to the Minnesota Wild.
“He’s close,” said Dean Evason. “He’s going to skate tomorrow and then we’ll make a decision. Obviously a lot of the decision is on the medical team.”
The Wild aren’t holding a morning skate Thursday, but Hartman was scheduled to get out on the ice and skate with assistant coaches and if all goes well it sounds like he’ll be in the lineup when the Wild host the Blackhawks on Friday.
“He’s ready. He wants to play. Now it’s the right decision of when, but as we just said to him, if he’s ready to play he’s going to play,” said Evason.
Who gets sent packing when Hartman returns? The odd man out could very well be Sammy Walker, who played just 6 1/2 minutes in Minnesota’s 4-1 win over the Red Wings Wednesday night.
Hartman was injured in a fight in Minnesota’s Oct. 30 game against the Blackhawks, though specifics about his shoulder injury haven’t been released by the team. Michael Russo reported in early December that the Wild chose to rehab Hartman’s injury naturally “but nobody knows whether that’ll work or if he’ll ultimately need surgery.”
What’s also unclear is if Hartman will be given his spot back as the top line center between Mats Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov.
Minnesota has won nine of 12 games and is 16-11-2 this season, good for third place in the Central Division and just five points behind the Dallas Stars for first place.
Related: Watch: Ryan Reaves delivers bone-crushing hit against Red Wings
