David Backes' first season with the Boston Bruins didn't exactly go as planned.

The veteran power forward averaged only 0.51 points per game with his new club in 2016-17 - his lowest such mark since 2007-08, his first full NHL season.

That was due, in part, to getting settled in Boston after 10 years in St. Louis, as well as finding his spot within the Bruins' lineup. At the same time, the 33-year-old appeared to have lost a step or two in a league that is increasingly emphasizing youth and speed.

As such, Backes - at the behest of team management - is prioritizing quickness, agility, and explosiveness during his summer training, according to Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe, rather than focusing on adding bulk or building raw power.

Backes said he was a offered frank evaluation of where his game was lagging, "the way the game's trending, and how we need to keep up," and took the feedback seriously.

"We need to be honest in order to improve ourselves," he said. "That was a recognition, probably in January in conversations with Cam (Neely), Don Sweeney, and a little bit with (former head coach) Claude (Julien). This was the way I needed to improve myself. I've really taken that to heart and put the time in this summer."

The former Blues captain reiterated how tough it was to change teams and conferences last summer, and is excited to enter this year's camp with a clearer mind.

"Looking forward to having a year where I can just play hockey, come to a house that's set up, just move my family and dogs and cats in, start living life, and really be able to focus on playing the game and helping our team win," Backes said. "That's what I'm most optimistic about."

He has four seasons remaining on a contract that carries a $6-million cap hit.

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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt was awarded a two-year, $4.5-million contract by an arbitrator, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Schmidt was the only restricted free agent this offseason that required an arbitration ruling, as Friedman previously reported that the sides couldn't agree on money or term.

The Golden Knights plucked the 26-year-old blue-liner from the Washington Capitals in June's expansion draft after Schmidt recorded a career-high 17 points in 60 games.

With Schmidt locked up, all of Vegas' roster players have contracts for the club's inaugural season.

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The Detroit Red Wings have locked up ninth overall pick Michael Rasmussen on a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Saturday.

Rasmussen was Detroit's highest first-round pick since 1990, as the club missed the postseason for the first time in 26 seasons in 2016-17.

In 50 games with the WHL's Tri-City Americans last season, Rasmussen, a towering 6-foot-6 center, recorded 32 goals and 23 assists.

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USA Hockey won't use its failed past blueprints to construct a 2018 Winter Olympics roster.

Team USA, which named Jim Johannson as general manager and the University of Wisconsin's Tony Granato as coach of its Olympic entry Friday, will have a different look when it arrives in Pyeongchang.

"We want a skilled team," Johannson told Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News. "The game is all about skating today. We're gonna get up and down the ice."

Given USA Hockey's lagging international results - including a disastrous run at last year's World Cup, in which a hard-nosed club constructed by former Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi finished an embarrassing seventh - a change in philosophy seemed to be in order.

Johannson is a longtime member of USA Hockey who currently serves as assistant executive director of hockey operations, one of many titles he has held since 2000. The Minnesota native was the GM behind Team USA's three gold-medal finishes at the world juniors in 2010, 2013, and 2017.

American hockey fans hope Johannson can now bring that winning track record to the Olympic stage.

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The Nashville Predators don't need another stellar defenseman, but it appears they've got one.

The club's third-round selection in this year's draft, David Farrance, is currently taking part in the World Junior Summer Showcase and on Friday he scored an incredible end-to-end goal to help lift the United States to a 4-3 victory over Finland.

Farrance played last season with the National Development Team and is committed to Boston University starting this fall.

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The boss is impressed.

In attending the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Mich., Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello got his latest opportunity to put eyes on the team's next wave of talent.

Fortunately for the up-and-comers, the legendary GM was more than satisfied with what he saw.

"We're extremely pleased," Lamoriello told Mark Masters of TSN on Friday. "I think our scouting staff has just done a tremendous job (with) the prospects that we have. We don't have room for a lot of them, so hopefully they can push some of the veterans."

Among the players taking part in the camp is defenseman Timothy Liljegren, who the Maple Leafs selected 17th overall in this year's draft. His presence wasn't lost on Lamoriello either.

"Last year, he had mono, so he missed quite a bit of the year," Lamoriello said. "Where he is today, and what we've seen of him, we're happy."

Liljegren's selection was widely considered a keen move by the Maple Leafs, as the Swedish blue-liner was seen as a top talent in this year's draft prior to a bout of illness that forced him out of the lineup and knocked him down the draft ranks.

The Maple Leafs' success at the draft tables in recent years has been no secret, as the club selected Auston Matthews with the first pick in 2016, after choosing Mitch Marner fourth overall in 2015, and fellow forward William Nylander with the eighth choice in 2014.

All three finished among the top six in Calder Trophy voting last season, while Matthews was the first Maple Leafs player to take home Rookie of the Year honors since 1966.

If Liljegren can have half of the impact of any of the aforementioned three, his selection will be another big win by the Maple Leafs.

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The Dallas Stars' last remaining free agent is now under contract.

Jamie Oleksiak signed a one-year contract worth $964,888 on Friday.

The 24-year-old defenseman was limited to 41 games due to injury last season, but spent the entire campaign on the NHL roster after splitting the previous three seasons between Dallas and its AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.

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It's fairly safe to say no one within the Florida Panthers organization has been disappointed in the play of defenseman Aaron Ekblad, but the former Calder Trophy winner admitted he could have prepared himself better in the early stages of his career.

"I may have cruised through my first two years a little bit too much. The real work began this summer. I truly believe that and I truly believe I'm the most confident and ready that I have ever been to play the game," Ekblad said, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com.

Ekblad was named Rookie of the Year for the 2014-15 season, after being selected first overall and posting 39 points and a plus-12 rating in 81 games. Both his point totals and number of games played dropped in each of his next two seasons, and he finished with just 21 points in 68 games in 2016-17, the final year of his entry-level contract.

The 21-year-old is viewing his worst statistical season as a wake-up call.

"That's a season where you really realize how hard it is, how hard this league is, how hard it is to stick around," Ekblad said. "It's easy to take that for granted with the money that we're paid and the opportunities that we get. You have to really humble yourself. Last year humbled me."

As he enters the first season of his eight-year, $60-million deal, Ekblad isn't ready to sit back and consider his job done.

"This league is not a league where you're invincible," he said. "You've got to fight hard every day to stay in it no matter how long your deal is and no matter how much you're getting paid. That is something that I learned and it's something I'm going to hold with me dearly to the end of my career.

Last season was the first of Ekblad's career in which he did not receive Norris Trophy consideration. Without his usual contributions, the Panthers finished sixth in the Atlantic Division and out of the playoffs.

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