Grading the Ottawa Senators’ Trade for Sharks’ William Eklund – The Hockey Writers – Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators have been one of the busiest teams in the NHL over the last couple of days. First, they traded Brady Tkachuk in a blockbuster trade with the Florida Panthers. Then today, they acquired William Eklund and a couple of prospects from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for the ninth overall pick, which they obtained in the Tkachuk deal. Here are the full details:

Senators acquire:

Sharks acquire:

• 2026 1st-round pick (No. 9 overall, via Florida)

Eklund is not the player that Tkachuk is, but he’s a young, budding top-six winger who should fit in well in Ottawa. As for the Sharks, they’re loaded with first-round picks heading into this weekend’s NHL Draft. Let’s grade each side of the trade.

Eklund Will Replace Some of What Senators Lost in Tkachuk

Tkachuk was the face of the franchise, so to speak. It’s not easy to replace a player with the scoring upside and five-on-five play-driving that he brings, but Eklund should make up for some of it.

Eklund is not the finisher that Tkachuk is. He’s averaged 17 goals per 82 games over the last three seasons, but he’s a dynamic playmaker. The Senators have some finishers with Drake Batherson and Tim Stützle, so he could fit in on a line with either player.

Aside from his playmaking, Eklund is excellent in transition. He’ll gain the offensive zone with possession and is not much of a dump-and-chase player, and he’ll escape the defensive zone cleanly with possession more often than not. He’s also an underrated forechecker. It’s not the primary strength of his game, but he’ll surprise you on the forecheck.

And even though Eklund isn’t a finisher, his shooting metrics look solid. He’s a good in-zone creator, and he creates shots off the rush. If he can improve his shot and finishing ability and become a 20-25 goal-scorer, the Senators could have a really good player on their hands.

But even without the finishing ability, the Senators are still getting a quality winger. The ninth overall pick might be a touch pricey to pay for Eklund, but the Senators had three first-round picks to work with heading into this weekend’s draft. They needed a top-six winger after trading Tkachuk, and Eklund should fit in well.

Most importantly, Eklund is under contract through the 2028-29 season at a cap hit of $5.6 million. That gives GM Steve Staios plenty of flexibility to make more additions to the Senators’ roster over the next week or two. Plus, Eklund will be an RFA once his contract expires, so the Senators have plenty of years of team control. There’s not much to dislike from the Senators’ end. This is a good pickup for them heading into next season.

Senators Grade: A-

Sharks Load Up on Assets

The Sharks trading Eklund leads me to believe they’ll be taking Ivar Stenberg with the second overall pick on Friday, assuming Gavin McKenna goes first to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The question now is, what will they do with the ninth overall pick?

We all know the Sharks need multiple defensemen. It was their biggest weakness this season and was why they faded out of the playoff race down the stretch. Will GM Mike Grier trade that pick for immediate NHL help along the blue line? Or will he use that pick to draft a defender such as Keaton Verhoeff or maybe Alberts Smits?

Either way, getting a top-10 pick for Eklund is a good bit of business. They were operating from a position of strength with their young forward group, and if they’re planning on drafting Stenberg with the second pick, it made sense to move on from Eklund and add some more draft capital to an already stocked cupboard.

Sharks Grade: A-

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