A couple of days after trading away winger Brady Tkachuk, the Ottawa Senators filled the need for a top-6 winger by acquiring William Eklund from the San Jose Sharks. According to PuckPedia, Eklund is signed for three more years at a cap hit of $5.6M per season, and he'll still be a restricted free agent when the contract runs out. That fits their timeline of being competitive now while adding pieces to (hopefully) turn into a Stanley Cup contender over the next few years.

The full trade:

Let's break it down.

What Ottawa Gets

At his essence, Eklund is a playmaking winger who is also capable defensively. Unlike other playmaking wingers, he's not a one-dimensional player who needs to be protected with soft zone starts and easy competition. In fact, San Jose's player usage chart from the 2025-26 season shows him driving play very well despite neutral zone starts and competition:

What can be difficult about evaluating a player like Eklund is that he's spent a fair bit of the last two years skating with superstar Macklin Celebrini. It should be mentioned, though, that he spent just 250 of his 1109 minutes of 5-on-5 play next to Celebrini this past season (per Evolving Hockey). In other words, those very good play-driving numbers from Eklund were done while playing more than three-quarters of his ice time without Celebrini on the ice.

The question is where Eklund fits in. It seems likely he gets a crack next to Tim Stutzle, but Eklund is at his best when feeding pucks to a shooter, and while Stützle can score, he's also a better playmaker than a scorer. It would not be that surprising that Eklund starts on the top line but eventually settles on the second line with Dylan Cozens. That would also include top PP time.

Assuming Ottawa makes no more big forward acquisitions, Eklund and Drake Batherson are some combination of the top two wingers on the team. Stützle and Cozens would be the two scoring centres, and those four would ostensibly comprise the top PP unit. That isn't great news for guys like Shane Pinto, Warren Foegele, or Claude Giroux (provided he re-signs with the Sens).

Kasper Halttunen's player profile can be read here and Brandon Svoboda here.  

What San Jose Gets

The Sharks now pick 2^nd and 9^th overall this year. They are also a team that missed the playoffs by just four points. If I were to wager, it's that they take the second pick (Ivar Stenberg becomes Eklund's replacement) and then the 9^th overall pick is included in a package for a top-pair, or second-pair, defenceman.

Assuming the Sharks take Stenberg 2^nd overall on Friday, he should immediately go to the top line with Celebrini, including top power-play time. The trade might open up some 5-on-5 ice time for Kiefer Sherwood and Will Smith, particularly when defending leads late in games.

Who This Helps

Will Smith

Kiefer Sherwood

Dylan Cozens

Who This Hurts

Shane Pinto

Claude Giroux