Phil Kessel's name made headlines this week because the Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly tested the trade market for the winger, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on Wednesday.

Captain Sidney Crosby addressed those rumors following the Penguins' 6-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

“There’s always going to be talk,” Crosby told The Athletic's Josh Yohe. “And there’s always going to be some things said outside of this room, the kind of stuff that we don’t really have any control over. All I know is, we appreciate all the things he brings to this team.”

Kessel's name has surfaced in trade talks before. Last offseason, he was reportedly open to playing for the Arizona Coyotes, a team that former Penguins assistant coach Rick Tocchet leads behind the bench. There was also a reported rift this summer between Kessel and Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.

Last month, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford spoke candidly about possibly shaking up the roster if the team didn't improve. He made a couple deals, shipping out Carl Hagelin and Daniel Sprong in exchange for Tanner Pearson and Marcus Pettersson in two separate trades. Pittsburgh is now third in the Metro Division.

Kessel is on pace for a career-high 100 points after recording a personal-best 92 last season. His value to the Penguins is clear, and especially to Crosby, who skated on a line with Kessel during the club's win on Thursday. The two have rarely played together at 5-on-5, but they combined for seven points against the Isles.

“We definitely appreciate all the things he can do for us,” Crosby said. “Look at what he does, look at how much he produces, how dangerous he can be every night.”

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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock believes William Nylander's first game of the season went as well as it could have, given the circumstances.

Nylander made his season debut Thursday night after ending his contract stalemate Saturday. He played just 12:29, but Babcock said he liked what he saw, and admitted the forward may have been thrown into the fire a little prematurely.

"I thought Willy was fine," Babcock said. "It was probably unfair for me - we had the bus thing that happened, we were supposed to practice together, we never even gave the guy a practice. We wanted to get him in. You've got two guys on that line, one coming back from injury (Auston Matthews) and one who hasn't played. In the end, we had an opportunity, we felt, to get going.

"We tried to get going. It has nothing to do with Willy, it has to do with me and trying to win the game, that's all ... I want him to play a ton, I just want to get him out there and get him going. Any time you've missed that amount of hockey, it's going to be hard for him."

After playing 10:22 through the first two periods, Nylander was limited to just 2:07 in the final frame, not seeing the ice for the final 11:37 of the third period and overtime.

Nylander, for his part, was satisfied with his performance, all things considered.

"It felt OK, there's a lot of differences from practicing by yourself and with the team back home," Nylander said. "I started feeling better, legs were OK, so it felt like an OK first game."

The 22-year-old should finally get some practice reps in on Friday before the Maple Leafs ship out to Boston for a meeting with the Bruins on Saturday night.

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The Carolina Hurricanes reportedly aren't done trying to bolster their group up front after failing to acquire William Nylander.

"I can tell (you) Carolina - which really, really, really wanted to get in on Nylander and never really got that shot - they want a top-six forward ASAP, and they've got the surplus on defense to make it happen," TSN's Pierre LeBrun said on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."

Carolina is deep on the back end, boasting the likes of Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk, and Calvin de Haan, in addition to Brett Pesce and Trevor van Riemsdyk.

The Hurricanes' forward depth has taken a hit due to injuries, with Jordan Staal being ruled out of Friday's game against the Anaheim Ducks due to a concussion and Micheal Ferland still dealing with a head injury of his own.

LeBrun reported back in September that the Hurricanes were among the teams that called the Toronto Maple Leafs about Nylander, but they were told the Leafs didn't want to trade him.

Nylander re-signed with Toronto last Saturday, inking a new six-year deal minutes before the 5 p.m. ET deadline to avoid being ineligible for the rest of the season.

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Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play.

On this episode, John is joined by ESPN's Emily Kaplan and theScore's Josh Wegman to break down the latest headlines and trends.

Topics include:

• Takeaways from Seattle expansion announcement
• Still to come: Hiring a GM/coach, choosing a name
• Spiraling Blackhawks falling behind in modern NHL
• Should Jeremy Colliton be blamed for Chicago's struggles?
• Under-the-radar fliers in fantasy hockey

... and more!

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Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson will miss Thursday night's contest against the Arizona Coyotes due to a concussion, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.

Head coach Todd Reirden said Wilson is day to day and will travel with the team to Columbus, where they end their three-game road trip on Saturday.

Wilson sustained the injury during the second period of Tuesday's game against the Vegas Golden Knights when he was tagged with a blindside hit from Ryan Reaves.

Reaves was handed a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct but did not receive a suspension.

The 24-year-old Capitals winger missed the first 16 games of the season while serving a suspension for a preseason hit on St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist.

Wilson has recorded eight goals and six assists through 11 games this season.

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Martin Hanzal will make his long-awaited return to the Dallas Stars' lineup on Friday against the San Jose Sharks, according to Mark Stepneski of the team's website.

Hanzal last suited up on Feb. 21 when he suffered a season-ending back injury. He underwent spinal fusion surgery in March.

He signed a three-year, $14.25-million contract with the Stars in July 2017, and tallied 10 points in 38 games during his first season in Dallas. He spent the first 10 years of his career with the Arizona Coyotes but was dealt to the Minnesota Wild at the 2017 trade deadline.

The towering 6-foot-6 center was spotted on a line between Devin Shore and Jason Spezza during Thursday's practice, according to The Athletic's Sean Shapiro.

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The Boston Bruins claimed forward Gemel Smith off waivers from the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

The 24-year-old center was spotted saying his farewells to his Stars teammates at their morning skate.

Smith, a fourth-round pick of the Stars in 2012, has recorded three points in 14 games this season. He'll provide Boston with some depth down the middle of the ice as Patrice Bergeron continues to recover from a clavicle injury.

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The cities of Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, were announced as hosts for the 2021 World Junior Hockey Championship on Thursday. That edition of the tournament will mark the fifth time in the previous 10 years that it's been played in Canada.

"To return to Alberta is an incredible opportunity for Hockey Canada and the IIHF World Junior Championship," said Scott Smith, president and chief operating officer of Hockey Canada. "The province of Alberta and the cities of Edmonton and Red Deer have a history of hosting successful, world-class events."

Edmonton and Calgary hosted the 2012 edition of the tournament.

Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers, will be one of two venues used to host games. The ENMAX Centrium, where the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels play, will be the other site.

This year's under-20 competition will be played in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. The Czech Republic will host in 2020 before the tournament returns to Alberta.

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