Less is more for Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, according to his head coach.

In an interview with Buffalo's WGR 550, Dan Bylsma confessed to using the young blue-liner too frequently last season, as he appeared to experience fatigue with the increased workload, particularly down the stretch.

"We put him into a lot of tough situations and I think some of the numbers that roll out on him as far as Corsi and possession do reflect that," Bylsma said, "But frankly we played him too much at times.

"He's not going to like to hear this, but he's not a guy that should be getting 28 to 30 minutes per night, although we did it to him and we put him in those situations."

The 21-year-old defenseman led all Sabres in ice time, averaging 25:16 - nearly three minutes more than Zach Bogosian (22:20), the second-highest Buffalo skater. It was a career high for the third-year defender, and an increase of nearly five minutes per game from the previous campaign.

Ristolainen's average ice time also ranked 10th-highest across the league.

The 21-year-old is at least five years younger than every blue-liner on the list.

Buffalo's acquisition of Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will allow him some more time off, and his coach is certain the drop in minutes will lead to increased output.

"(Ristolainen's) number should be in the 24 minute per game range," Bylsma said, "and that's where you'll see him be at this next year, and his numbers will improve too because of that."

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The hockey world is Jimmy Vesey's oyster.

For the next few days, at least.

Set to become an unrestricted free agent at midnight ET on Tuesday, Vesey's camp will reportedly meet with representatives from the New York Islanders and New York Rangers over the next two days, writes Newsday's Steve Zipay and Arthur Staple.

Vesey's agents will be meeting teams in Boston, and a decision is expected by Friday or Saturday.

Related: Report: Leafs to likely use No. 1 pick Matthews in pitch to Vesey

The Rangers have long been documented as a suitor, and while many teams will be calling Vesey's camp, this is the first time the Islanders have been linked to the 23-year-old.

Vesey's a Hobey Baker Award winner, given to the nation's top collegiate hockey player, and can sign a two-year entry-level contract with the team of his choice.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

If you're not yet excited about the World Cup of Hockey, this will do it.

Upper Deck's clearly amped, and the cards manufacturer is releasing special five-card World Cup of Hockey packs to be given to customers who buy $25 worth of Upper Deck products as a gift.

The cards will be available Sept. 15.

Below are some images of the cards, courtesy of Upper Deck, with all eight teams - including Team Europe and Team North America - represented.

Jonathan Toews:

Evgeni Malkin:

Patrick Kane:

Connor McDavid:

Autographed cards will be up for grabs, too:

Yeah, you're excited.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Antoine Vermette won his first Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, and he believes he can win his second with the Anaheim Ducks.

"I've always portrayed (the Ducks) as Cup contenders," Vermette told AnaheimDucks.com, after signing a two-year, $1.75-million-per-year deal with the Orange County club Monday. "That's a big thing for me. I had the chance to win it not too long ago, and now later in my career, I believe in this team and organization."

According to agent Allan Walsh, Vermette had offers from five different clubs, but the Ducks stood out as a team that continued to express interest.

"As talks evolved, some (teams) were more interested than others," he said. "Anaheim was there all throughout the process."

Vermette became a free agent after his contract was bought out by the Arizona Coyotes earlier this month.

The 34-year-old will provide Anaheim with valuable center depth, likely lining up as the third pivot behind captain Ryan Getzlaf and veteran center Ryan Kesler.

A noted faceoff specialist, Vermette ranks second among all active NHLers, winning 55.8 per cent of his career draws. In each of the past four seasons, he's ranked in the top 10 in faceoff wins.

He'll also provide Ducks coach Randy Carlyle with an extra option on the power play. Only two Anaheim skaters, Corey Perry (12) and former Ducks winger Jamie McGinn (9), tallied more power-play goals than Vermette (6) last season.

As Ducks GM Bob Murray told the Orange County Register, "Antoine is very versatile and gives us a bunch more options with our forward group."

In 76 games with Arizona last season, Vermette scored 17 goals and added 21 assists. Following his 2015 trade to Chicago, he provided the Hawks with much-needed playoff scoring, including three game-winning goals.

"I'm glad to be on (Anaheim's) side. They have a lot of tools in the lineup that can hurt you, and there are a lot of good players," he said. "I'm very excited to jump on board and find the right chemistry to give us another championship."

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Although he's still two years removed from free agency, John Tavares has no intent to leave Long Island.

Speaking with Newsday.com, the New York Islanders captain expressed his desire to stay with the franchise long term, and his commitment to leading the team to its fifth Stanley Cup.

"I don't really have any reason to leave and I think we have a great makeup and a team that can do something special this year," Tavares said. "I've always expressed my love for playing for Long Island. It's where I started, it's all I know in the NHL."

The Islanders can sign Tavares to a long-term extension July 1, one year before he can become an unrestricted free agent.

"There's obviously still a lot of time, but Long Island is where I enjoy playing. I love being the captain there and they've treated me so well. The people, the fans have always been so good to me."

The Islanders have seen renewed success under Tavares. New York eliminated the Florida Panthers in the opening round of the 2016 playoffs, marking the Islanders' first playoff series victory since 1993.

"Winning that tough series against a good team gave us the belief that we've got what it takes to go right to the end."

GM Garth Snow looked to build upon that success this offseason, signing a trio of free-agent wingers in Jason Chimera, Andrew Ladd, and P.A. Parenteau.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are putting Auston Matthews to work.

With Harvard standout Jimmy Vesey set to hit the free-agent market at midnight Tuesday, the first overall pick in this summer's draft is going to be putting on his salesman suit before he plays a game in blue and white:

A decision from Vesey's camp isn't expected until late this week or on the weekend, his agent said Monday.

Toronto is one of a handful of clubs linked to the 23-year-old, but are thought to have an inside track on the soon-to-be free agent. The Maple Leafs drafted Vesey's brother, Nolan, in 2014, and employ Vesey's father, Jim, as an amateur scout.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New Jersey Devils goalie Cory Schneider is rested and ready to go, with his sights set on the World Cup.

After undergoing offseason core muscle surgery, Schneider is looking forward to starring in goal for Team USA at the upcoming World Cup.

"Surgery pushed me back a little," Schneider told NHL.com. "But honestly I think having the World Cup sooner was a good thing because once I was cleared and felt good to go, I started pushing pretty hard.

"It's been a good, focused summer in terms of not only rehabbing, but keeping in mind that you have to be in game shape a little sooner than normal because you don't have as long a training camp to ease into it."

Schneider admits that part of the challenge will be the quick adjustment to the World Cup's short schedule.

"When you play in the Olympics, guys are in midseason form and they have it already, but for this tournament we all have to find a way to come in with an intensity and focus you normally don't have at the beginning of September."

While Schneider is excited to play for his country, he noted that his priority is being healthy for Devils training camp.

"It's a fine line talking with my strength coach and trying to figure out the pace and I am still in a strength mode because of the surgery, but it's not just the tournament. It's 82 games and hopefully more after that I need to prepare for."

Team USA's first game is set for Sept. 17 vs. Team Europe.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Canadian Olympic swimming superstar Penny Oleksiak's ties to hockey go deeper than her brother, Jamie, who plays defense for the Dallas Stars.

Now up to almost 45,000 followers after a miraculous week in Rio, Penny took part in a Twitter Q&A with BuzzFeed Canada on Monday, and revealed that her "biggest fan" is named after an NHL legend:

More proof that everyone loves Jaromir Jagr, even 16-year-olds.

Jagr, 44, will skate in a remarkable 23rd NHL season in October with the Florida Panthers.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

While he's set to become an unrestricted free agent Tuesday, highly coveted Hobey Baker winner Jimmy Vesey won't rush to a decision.

''It's certainly not going to be tomorrow,'' Vesey's agent, Peter Fish, told The Associated Press. ''I would say the earliest may be Friday or Saturday, but I wouldn't expect it to drag on much into the following week.''

Vesey, 23, was drafted 66th overall by the Nashville Predators in 2012, but decided to forego signing with the club in order to pursue free agency.

In June, the Predators traded Vesey's rights to the Buffalo Sabres for a 2016 third-rounder.

In addition to the Sabres, Boston, Chicago, New Jersey, and Toronto are believed to be among the interested suitors.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Although he's entering his final season as head coach, St. Louis Blues bench boss Ken Hitchcock couldn't be more excited.

Speaking with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Hitchcock voiced his enthusiasm for the coming year, highlighting the team's crop of young talent.

The Blues are expected to take on a younger look following the departures of David Backes, 32, and Troy Brouwer, 30, with 24-year-olds Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko growing into larger roles.

"We have a lot of guys that started young and we've grown them into the group," Hitchcock said. "We've got experienced players who are just hitting their prime now."

Hitchcock also raved about the additions made behind the bench.

In June, the Blues announced the appointment of Mike Yeo (formerly of the Minnesota Wild), who will serve as associate coach and assume the main job a year from now.

Rick Wilson, who won the Stanley Cup in 1999 with Hitchcock as part of the Dallas Stars, was also named assistant coach.

"We're able to cherry-pick what Minny did. Their team was built the same way that our team is going to be built this year, not really big on size, but a bunch of puck-hunters."

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.