Minnesota Wild Claim Ryan Hartman’s Buddy Off Waivers
The Minnesota Wild got some good news in the form of a couple players returning from injury. They also got some recent bad news in the form of Ryan Hartman being suspended for 10 games.
Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes needs some help to make up the lost production from Hartman, and Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin opted to claim a familiar face.
Vinnie Hinostroza joins the Minnesota Wild
Despite salary cap restrictions, the MN Wild continue to maneuver while utilizing Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR). With Ryan Hartman out for the foreseeable future, Vinnie Hinostroza joins the roster.
#mnwild claim Vinnie Hinostroza off waivers from Nashville. Gives them an extra forward with, if I remember correctly, his buddy, Ryan Hartman, suspended.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 5, 2025
Minnesota has plenty of history with the Nashville Predators this year. Zach L’Heureux took Jared Spurgeon out with a dirty hit. The Wild then turned their next contest into fight night. Now Hinostroza joins the good guys.
There are plenty of parallels with the move considering how close Hinostroza and Hartman are. The former was in the latter’s wedding party, and both are from Illinois. The Athletic‘s Michael Russo explained how the Minnesota Wild are able to afford the addition.
“The Wild are able to temporarily afford Hinostroza because injured Kirill Kaprizov is on long-term injured reserve. They made room on the roster by placing Jakub Lauko on injured reserve. That means Lauko won’t return until after the 4-Nations Face-Off at earliest.”
Michael Russo on adding Hinostroza (The Athletic)
Poor Jakob Lauko (lower body) back on IR but the #mnwild pick up forward Vinnie Hinostroza off waivers from the Nashville Predators
— Jessi Pierce (@jessi_pierce) February 5, 2025
Hinostroza has played just 13 games this season for the Predators. He has two points on a pair of assists while blocking five shots and dishing out 13 hits. In 26 AHL games Hinostroza has 11 goals and 22 assists.
Vinnie Hinostroza (@mkeadmirals) adds a hat trick and an assist and now leads the league with 33 points through 24 games👀 pic.twitter.com/goVTpcZAIa
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) December 21, 2024
The Wild certainly will miss Hartman while he handles his suspension. The veteran has played in 48 games this season and has contributed seven goals and 10 assists. With the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, the hope would be that the roster can get healthy in his absence.
Related: Minnesota Wild Activate Two Top Skaters from LTIR
It’s certainly a small world when your employer can claim one of your best friends in your absence. It’s also comical that Hinostroza comes from the franchise that has had it out for the Wild all season.
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