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.
| Season | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 82 | 9 | 32 | 41 | -21 | 25:16 |
| 2014-15 | 78 | 8 | 12 | 20 | -32 | 20:36 |
| 2013-14 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -15 | 19:07 |
Ristolainen's average ice time also ranked 10th-highest across the league.
| Rank | Position | Skater | Age | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D | Erik Karlsson | 26 | 28:58 |
| 2 | D | Ryan Suter | 31 | 28:35 |
| 3 | D | Drew Doughty | 26 | 28:01 |
| 4 | D | Kris Letang | 29 | 26:56 |
| 5 | D | P.K. Subban | 27 | 26:21 |
| 6 | D | Alex Pietrangelo | 26 | 26:18 |
| 7 | D | Brent Burns | 31 | 25:51 |
| 8 | D | Roman Josi | 26 | 25:29 |
| 9 | D | Shea Weber | 31 | 25:22 |
| 10 | D | Rasmus Ristolainen | 21 | 25:16 |
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."
