William Nylander is looking to get some security with his next contract.

The Toronto Maple Leafs forward is a restricted free agent and wants a long-term contract as opposed to a bridge deal.

"Of course I want long term, that's what I want to do," Nylander said, according to theScore's John Matisz.

Nylander is the first of the Maple Leafs' three young stars to finish their rookie contracts. Both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have one more year left on their entry-level deals, but are eligible to sign extensions at any time.

The 22-year-old is coming off his second full season in the NHL. He's remained consistent in those two years, posting identical 61-point seasons.

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The Philadelphia Flyers re-signed defenseman Robert Hagg to a two-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.

The deal is reportedly worth $2.3 million and will see him paid $1 million this season and $1.3 million during the 2019-20 campaign, according to Cap Friendly.

Hagg put up three goals and nine points in 70 games in his first full season in the NHL last year. The 23-year-old was drafted in the second round by the Flyers in 2013.

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The Boston Bruins will honor Rick Middleton by retiring his No. 16 ahead of their Nov. 29 clash with the New York Islanders, the team announced Tuesday.

"Mr. Middleton's number 16 has long deserved to be raised to TD Garden's rafters," Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs said in a release.

Middleton played 12 of his 14 NHL seasons with the Bruins after originally being drafted 14th overall by the New York Rangers in 1973.

He finished his career with 402 goals, good enough for third on the franchise's all-time list behind only John Bucyk and Phil Esposito. He also sits fourth on the franchise's all-time points list with 898, behind Ray Bourque, Bucyk, and Esposito.

Middleton becomes the 11th Bruins player to have his jersey retired by the organization.

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If Los Angeles Kings play-by-play announcer Alex Faust wanted to change careers and become a game show host, he would have a legendary figure in his corner.

Long-time "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek was recently on FOX News Channel's "OBJECTified," during which he told Harvey Levin he may retire from the show once his contract expires in 2020. However, if he does call it quits, Trebek would recommend Faust as his replacement.

"I mentioned to our producer not so long ago that the fellow that does play-by-play for the Los Angeles Kings - they should consider him," Trebek said to Levin, according to Sports Illustrated's Emily Caron.

It's an interesting proposition and one Faust doesn't necessarily seem opposed to.

Faust took over for Bob Miller in the broadcast booth after Miller retired at the end of the 2016-2017 season after 44 years.

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The New York Rangers agreed to terms on a one-year contract with forward Kevin Hayes on Monday, the team announced.

The deal will pay Hayes $5.125 million, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, and saves both sides from going through an arbitration hearing that had been scheduled for Thursday.

Hayes is coming off a two-year, $5.2-million contract and will now become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. Last season, the 26-year-old set a career high with 25 goals and added another 19 assists in 76 games.

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New York Islanders prospect Oliver Wahlstrom plans to develop in college before jumping to the NHL.

Wahlstrom won't attend Islanders training camp in September. Instead, he'll report to Boston College and play his freshman season.

"There will be no training camp with the Islanders this year, so I'll move into Boston College on August 23rd and I'm excited for that," Wahlstrom said, according to NHL.com's Mike Morreale. "It's going to be a new adventure. It's a good place for me to develop before the NHL, so it'll be fun."

The 18-year-old was considered one of the best value picks in the 2018 NHL Draft, falling to the Islanders at No. 11 after being ranked seventh by NHL Central Scouting.

Last season, he played for the U.S. National Under-18 Team, posting 22 goals and 45 points in 26 games.

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Mitch Marner may have led the Toronto Maple Leafs in scoring this past season, but he is still looking to carry more weight within the dressing room.

The 21-year-old's young complexion has seen him become the subject of jokes among teammates, but going forward he's hoping to shed that persona.

"I want to be taken more seriously, I guess you could say," Marner said, according to TSN. "I love the jokes about getting called a five-year-old and six-year-old and all that stuff, as I find it very amusing and funny, but obviously I want to be taken a bit more seriously (in the locker room) and taking even more upon myself.

"I think all young guys do (want to be taken more seriously), we all want to put more pressure on ourselves and be better every single night and going forward that's what we have to do."

While Marner would like to have a more prominent role in the dressing room, the hope is that the Maple Leafs will also increase their stature within the league. For them to do so, they will need to advance past the first round of the playoffs, which they've failed to do in each of the last two years.

"We obviously have a lot to prove this year," Marner said. "(In the past) we were happy with just getting into the playoffs, but after back-to-back first-round exits, it's obviously something we don't want to keep doing and this is the year that we have to step up our game to another level and challenge each other and like I said, we're excited for this moment."

The Maple Leafs added John Tavares to the fold in free agency and head coach Mike Babcock has already stated that he expects Marner to play alongside the new star center.

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While there may still be uncertainty surrounding Erik Karlsson's future in Ottawa, one thing he won't have to worry about is his health.

The Ottawa Senators captain entered last season after undergoing surgery on his ankle to repair tendons. Because of this, he missed the first five games of the campaign and appeared to be a step behind his usual blistering pace. However, while speaking at the Canadian Open Pro-AM this week, Karlsson admitted his ankle feels better than ever.

"I think it's better now than it was before because you work on it so much," Karlsson said, according to The Athletic's Chris Stevenson. "I'm very optimistic moving forward from here. It shouldn't be an issue for me whatsoever, so that's nice.

"110 (percent) probably," he added. "It's that good."

After the season ended, Karlsson spent time with the doctor who performed the surgery and is now working with a foot specialist to help build his strength.

"I'm seeing another ankle specialist in Ottawa a lot, too," Karlsson said. "Mostly it's just getting strength back and getting used to the feeling, which takes a bit of time now and that time is past. I've got my new normal again and it feels great."

Despite a down season by his standards, Karlsson still tied Mark Stone for the team high in points with 62 in 71 games. With health no longer a concern, the 28-year-old should enter the season, once again, as a potential Norris Trophy candidate.

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The Vancouver Canucks don't plan to make an outside hire in the foreseeable future following the departure of president of hockey operations Trevor Linden.

Related: Canucks, president of hockey operations Trevor Linden part ways

The Canucks and Linden parted ways Wednesday after four years. Following the news, team owner Francesco Aquilini stated that general manager Jim Benning would take on Linden's responsibilities, and Benning said during a press conference Thursday that he expects to keep the new job for the time being.

"(Aquilini) said he's not looking to hire someone as the president of hockey operations," Benning said, according to The Canadian Press.

Meanwhile, Linden's exit doesn't appear to have caused any change in philosophy within the organization. The Canucks plan to continue with their rebuild, which Aquilini remains supportive of, Benning added.

"He's on board," Benning said. "He doesn't interfere with what we do. He listens to us, he asks questions and then he lets us do what we need to do."

Vancouver hasn't made the playoffs since the 2014-15 season, when the club was ousted in the first round by the Calgary Flames, and have missed the postseason in four of the last five seasons.

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The Minnesota Wild locked up restricted free-agent forward Jason Zucker to a five-year, $27.5-million contract on Wednesday.

Zucker and the Wild were able to agree to the new contract three days before both sides were scheduled to go to arbitration.

The 26-year-old is coming off his fourth full season with the Wild which saw him hit career highs in both goals (33) and points (64). He also led the team with seven game-winning goals and 17 multi-point games.

With Zucker under contract, the Wild now have their full 23-man roster solidified for next season with just $1.7 million in cap space remaining.

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