Hartman could bring youth, upside to Stars after trade

The Stars on Monday
acquired the rights
to winger Ryan Hartman from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for winger Tyler Pitlick.
Hartman, 24, is a pending restricted free agent with a qualifying offer of $918,750, while Pitlick has one year remaining on his contract at $1 million. Hartman also is arbitration eligible.

RELATED: [Stars acquire Hartman from Flyers in exchange for Pitlick]
The Stars gain a couple of years of youth and maybe some greater upside in Hartman. Pitlick is 27, and has been a good depth player in the Stars system. He battled a wrist injury last season and had 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 47 games. The year before, he played 80 games and tallied 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists).
Hartman was a first-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2013 and had a breakout season in 2016-17 with 31 points (19 goals and 12 assists) and 170 shots on goal in 76 games. He was traded to Nashville in 2018 in a deal that included the Predators' first-round draft pick and then was moved to Philadelphia in the spring as part of the deal that brought Wayne Simmonds to Nashville.

Hartman had shoulder surgery last May and missed much of his off-season. Still, he finished with 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) and 145 shots on goal in 83 games with Nashville and Philadelphia. He said in his exit interview with the Flyers that he was looking forward to have full workouts in the summer.
"I had a really short offseason last year. I had shoulder surgery in May," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting back to a full summer of trying to get my body back where it needs to be, maybe get my speed up a little bit."
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Hartman is known as a speedy, emotional player. He will stir the pot and doesn't mind antagonizing the opposition.
He averaged 13:26 in time on ice for the Predators while Pitlick averaged 13:23 for Dallas.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.