The San Jose Sharks have traded the team’s longest tenured forward to the Ottawa Senators. This afternoon, the Sharks organization announced it traded William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda to the Senators for the 9th overall pick in the upcoming draft. The deal comes one day after the Senators acquired the ninth overall pick (along with a few others) from the Florida Panthers for Brady Tkachuk.
What the Sharks lose in this deal
Obviously, the biggest loss in this deal is Eklund. The 23-year-old winger is coming off a “down” season in which he had just 53 points in 78 games. Of course, there are a few caveats to that. Eklund, while reportedly healthy, was coming off a summer in which he had surgery on his arm. Fans will remember he suffered a brutal cut at the World Championship that knocked him out of the tournament before it really got started. He was ready to start the season out of training camp, but he didn’t seem like his complete self until midway through the season.
As the season wore on, Eklund added some spice that other forwards lacked. It will be something the Sharks will miss this season, especially in the top six. Presumably, Kiefer Sherwood was brought in to fill that role, but Eklund seemed to do that a bit better and fit more seamlessly. He was very good at aggravating opponents while wearing an infectious grin on his face.
In addition to Eklund, the Sharks lose two prospects in Halttunen and Svoboda. We’ll tackle Halttunen first. The 21-year-old winger ranked 14th on our 25 Sharks Under 25 last season, earning the spot in part because he still has a booming shot worthy of the NHL. But the young forward has not developed the other aspects of his game the way fans had hoped. Outside of his shot, there’s nothing about his game that’s forcing the coaching staff to call him up. With young players like Igor Chernyshov, Collin Graf, Quentin Musty and Filip Bystedt demanding attention, it’s pretty clear that Halttunen had fallen further and further down the Sharks’ depth chart. Trading him now frees up a contract spot for General Manager Mike Grier to make another move if he needs to.
Finally, there’s Svoboda, who looked like an outside chance to be a depth forward when he was drafted in the third round in 2023. He just wrapped up his second season at Boston University and made honorable mention on our 25 Under 25 list last season. Truthfully, it’s hard to say if he would have made the list at all this year given that he made just a small step forward in development between his freshman and sophomore year in college hockey.
What this trade could mean for the Sharks on draft day
For Sharks fans, while it’s sad to see a fan favorite like Eklund leave, it certainly means that GMMG is cooking up something good. At the very least, it’s looking more and more certain that he’ll select Ivar Stenberg with the second overall pick and still have the ninth overall pick to select an impactful defenseman who can help the team down the road.
The way the draft board appears to be playing out currently, San Jose has a very real chance of drafting one of the top defensive prospects on the board. Here’s how it’s likely to play out:
- Toronto Maple Leafs – Gavin McKenna (everyone’s pretty sure this is happening)
- San Jose Sharks – Ivar Stenberg (the Eklund trade makes this look more likely than ever)
- Vancouver Canucks – Caleb Malhotra (Vancouver needs a center and his dad Manny is the head coach, so many signs point to this being the pick)
- Chicago Blackhawks – Connor Bedard needs a linemate, desperately; The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler is guessing D, but how much longer can you make Connor sad?
- New York Rangers – Wheeler says NYR needs a top center and D, with so many good D prospects on the board, they likely can’t resist, however, Viggo Bjorck will likely also be there and he, like Stenberg, played in the SHL last season and was a rookie of the year finalist.
- Calgary Flames – The Athletic’s Corey Pronman says the Flames need a center, so if Bjorck or Malhotra are available, they won’t get past Calgary. However, if neither is there, look for Calgary to take Carson Carels so he can play alongside Zayne Parekh.
- Seattle Kraken – Seattle tends not to pick defense with its draft picks, but this might be the year if the experts are to be believed.
- Winnipeg Jets – Wheeler says if Bjorck is available, he’ll go here, if not, it’s defense all the way.
The bottom line is, four of the top eight picks will be forwards (McKenna, Stenberg, Malhotra and Bjorck), which means that at best, only four of the top defensive prospects will be picked. Right now, there’s Chase Reid (right), Carels (left), Verhoeff (right), Alberts Smits (left) and Daxon Rudolph (right) as potential top ten picks on defense. Odds are, at least one, if not more, of them will be available when the Sharks pick at ninth overall.
An alternate ending for the Sharks
Of course, all this could be for naught. I am relatively sure that Grier plans to pick Stenberg at second overall. He would not have traded Eklund if that was not Plan A. That means that every offer he heard for the pick was not good enough, and he’s done hearing offers.
However, I also believe that picks #9 and #27 are on the table. If the right puck-moving, right-shot young defenseman under contract came along, Grier would happily move both to help the team now. Think about the deal that the New York Islanders made last season to send Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens. The Islanders received a mid-level prospect in Emil Heineman and two first-round picks (16 & 17) for Dobson. Grier could offer a similar package for a similarly impactful defenseman if one is to be had.
The Sharks aren’t in win-now mode, but the team also isn’t in wait for a defenseman to develop three or four years from now mode. This move would help get more in line with where Macklin Celebrini is in his development and coincide with where Michael Misa, Will Smith, Sam Dickinson and Yaroslav Askarov will be in the next few seasons.
Conclusion
No matter which way you slice it, this was an excellent move by Grier. He took a position of strength, San Jose’s forward group, and used it to hopefully strengthen a position of weakness. What’s more, he may not have weakened that position of strength. As much as we love Eklund here at Fear the Fin, it seems pretty clear that Stenberg has the ability to be a step above what Eklund’s ceiling was. If Stenberg develops into the forward we think he can be, then the Sharks may have found one of the final pieces for its top six puzzle.
