First, good luck to Hartsy. I really appreciate all he did for the organization. In his first year here, my son and I were watching warmups near the players' bench early in the season. He gave my son a signed stick of his which I thought was an awesome gesture and something my son still keeps in his room.
Second, Hartsy was probably the one who told Portzline about his exit meeting where he was told he likely wouldn't be back. A buyout was planned back then, barring a trade appearing, which I guess didn't. We were wondering here whether the Clarkson trade would change that decision, but it appears that trade was agreed to prior to the exit meeting. So, it looks like it's been the plan for awhile to shed the Hartnell and Clarkson contracts from the roster.
The question is now what the next step is.