‘You fans are amazing’: As fans try to pay Wild player’s fine, he plans donation to Children’s Minnesota
An official, center, gets caught between Edmonton Oilers' Evander Kane (91) and Minnesota Wild's Ryan Hartman (38) during a skirmish in the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 12, 2022, in St. Paul, Minn. Both players received game misconduct penalties. The Wild won 5-1, with Hartman scoring two of the goals. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
A fight in Tuesday’s Minnesota Wild game has turned into a viral outpouring of support.
During the third period of Minnesota’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, a fight broke out involving the Oilers’ Evander Kane and the Wild’s Ryan Hartman. As the players were dragged off the ice, Hartman was seen flipping off Kane.
The following morning, the NHL fined Hartman $4,250, the most the league could fine him, for the incident.
Then, fans stepped in. One Wild fan, Allie Cook, found Hartman’s Venmo account and sent him $10; others started to do the same.
In a little over a day, more than $7,000 had been sent to Hartman, who then took to Twitter to address the donations and urge fans to send them to a different place.
“Wow….overwhelmed by the amount of donations I have received to help pay for my fine. You fans are amazing,” Hartman tweeted. “I will be paying for it with my own money, but wanted to let everyone know that any money sent to me by 7 pm on Friday will be donated to Children’s Minnesota.”
“As the Kid Experts, they provide amazing services to children in Minnesota and the Midwest. Instead of sending money to me, please consider donating directly to Children’s Minnesota at https://give.childrensmn.org/page/34886/donate/1,” Hartman added.
Even before the act, Hartman had quickly become a fan favorite in Minnesota. He’s been with the team since 2019 and signed a 3-year, $5.1 million contract with the Wild before this season. Since then, he’s had a career year, posting career-highs in goals (29), assists (27), points (56), plus-minus (29) and penalty minutes (81).
Kane, on the other hand, was suspended by the league last year for submitting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card and also faced accusations of gambling on games, purposely losing games he bet on, as well as abuse allegations from his now ex-wife, Anna — who also apparently donated to Hartman’s cause.
Just your typical hockey fight and fine that turned out to benefit a good cause.