Sharks Trade William Eklund

The Ottawa Senators rocked the hockey world on Fathers Day when they traded captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for draft picks. While the Tkachuk brothers will reunite after winning gold for the US at the Olympics, the Senators collect the No. 9, No. 25, a first-round pick in 2029, and a 2027 second-round pick. Now, the Senators flip the newly acquired No.9 pick to the San Jose Sharks for forward William Eklund.

San Jose also sent prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda. 

The pick signals for the Sharks, while difficult for the fanbase, that they are almost guaranteed to pick the standout winger from Sweden Ivar Stenberg No. 2 overall and take the best defenseman available at No. 9 whether that be Keaton Verhoeff, Carson Carels, or Daxon Rudolph, unless Mike Grier still has some deals up his sleeve. 

Earlier today, Grier noted that teams are “consistently serious” about trading for the No. 2 pick and the Sharks have "received multiple legitimate offers” from as many as five teams. Recently Grier swung a trade with the Buffalo Sabres swapping the No. 20 pick for defenseman Micahael Kesselring, a big bodied blue-liner with physical gifts, and the No. 27 pick. 

While there is likely to be buzz surrounding the San Jose Sharks and their litany of first-round picks available for the right price, the Swedish wing will find a new home North of the border in Canada’s Capital. 

Eklund’s 53 points in 73 games may not seem like a massive loss on paper, but his most recent campaign was marred by a lot of bad luck in terms of finishing scoring plays that should allow him to really breakout in 2026-27. Oftentimes when Macklin Celebrini’s line was countered by the other team, it was Eklund’s line providing secondary scoring.

The longest tenured Shark truly endeared himself to San Jose fans, as he was the first high profile pick at No.7 in the 2021 draft, meaning he was in the muck of the darkest era for Sharks hockey in franchise history. He never complained, instead Eklund grinded his way to improving every year of his career. This past season, it could be argued that Eklund was the Sharks best play driver besides Celebrini. 

The hat trick he scored against the St. Louis Blues on April 6, 2024 was one of the brightest spots for a franchise stuck in the mud since their last playoff run in 2019 when Eklund celebrated his overtime winner by wearing the straw hat giveaway on the ice. The Sharks won that game 3-2 and marked a building block moment indicating that better days were ahead. Just a couple months later, the Sharks selected Celebrini with the first overall pick in the draft and San Jose has been on the right track ever since. 

It’s hard not to feel for a guy who gutted out some of the worst hockey in franchise history and is dealt right as you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but Grier needs to be commended for the move regardless of how much of a bummer it is. The Sharks are in a better position for the future now than they were before the trade. 

Again, Grier could easily trade any number of his first-round picks and depending on the return, the Sharks could be in a worse place than before, but his track record of not “losing” deals should be a good indicator that the Sharks will start the season in a better spot than they ended 2025-26.