Steve Staios said he wasn’t done. Turns out he meant it.
Just days after trading away franchise cornerstone Brady Tkachuk, the Ottawa Senators general manager pulled off another significant move — acquiring San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund in a deal that sends a first-round pick and two prospects to the Sharks.
TSN’s Chris Johnston reported the trade first, with NHL insider Frank Seravalli later filling in the specifics. The full breakdown: Ottawa gets Eklund plus prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda. San Jose receives the No. 9 overall pick in this year’s draft, which originally belonged to the Florida Panthers.
What the Senators Are Getting
Eklund, selected seventh overall in 2021, has quietly put together three solid seasons in San Jose. The 22-year-old winger has scored at least 15 goals and 45 points in each of those campaigns. He’s not a superstar — not yet, anyway — but he’s a reliable top-six forward who can create offense and kill penalties.
Halttunen and Svoboda are both 2023 draft picks taken in the second and third rounds respectively. Neither has played an NHL game. Halttunen, a 6-foot-3 Finnish winger, spent last season in the OHL and projects as a power-forward type. Svoboda, a center, played college hockey at Boston University. Both are lottery tickets at this point, not sure things.
Reading Between the Lines
Ottawa’s front office is clearly in retool mode after moving Tkachuk. The Eklund deal suggests they’re not blowing it all up, though. They’re swapping a high-value draft pick for a young player who’s already producing at the NHL level. That’s a win-now-ish move wrapped in a rebuild package.
For the Sharks, this is about adding assets. San Jose owns multiple first-rounders this year and has been stockpiling young talent for years. Moving Eklund — whose value is solid but not elite — for a top-10 pick lets them take another swing at a potential star. They’re playing the long game, and this pick gives them more ammo.
It’s worth noting that Eklund had 16 goals and 47 points last season on a Sharks team that finished near the bottom of the standings. Those numbers might look better in a better environment. Ottawa’s hoping he takes another step forward.
Neither Halttunen nor Svoboda are expected to jump straight into the Senators’ lineup next season. Both will likely need time in the AHL or back in junior hockey. For now, Eklund is the headliner, and the pressure is on him to justify the price tag.
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