William Eklund says he holds no ill will toward the San Jose Sharks and added that the best from him is still to come as he begins his tenure with the Ottawa Senators.

Eklund and prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda were traded by the Sharks to the Senators on Tuesday for the ninth overall selection in this year’s NHL draft, which begins Friday at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

The Senators received the No. 9 pick as part of the trade that sent their former captain, Brady Tkachuk, to the Florida Panthers on Sunday. They then used that selection to get Eklund, who had 53 points in 78 games with San Jose last season.

Eklund said he was at a Pitbull concert in Stockholm when he was first contacted about the trade. 

“That’s part of the game sometimes; it’s a business,” Eklund told reporters on Friday. “Everybody getting into hockey, we know how it works. I have no hard feelings for San Jose. I wish all the guys the best of luck there.”

While the Sharks now hold the second, ninth, and 27th overall picks in the first round of the draft on Friday, Eklund is looking at the trade as an opportunity to hit the refresh button, as the Senators need someone to help replace Tkachuk’s production. Tkachuk had 59 points in 60 games this past season as the Senators advanced to the playoffs for the second straight season.

Eklund, with 156 points in his last 235 games over the previous three seasons, is just starting a three-year, $16.8 million contract extension he signed with the Sharks last July.

“Coming to Ottawa is a big chance for me,” Eklund said. “I think I haven’t even proven myself as the best player I can be, and I really hope to take another step next year, another step the year after that to help us win more games in the (Stanley Cup) Playoffs and stuff like that. I’m just really excited, that’s the only thing I am.”

“I didn’t go into this off-season looking to trade (Eklund),” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said on Wednesday. “He was someone that Ottawa zeroed in on and targeted as someone who could come in and help replace some of the production they lost with Brady.”

Eklund could find himself on a line next season with good friend Fabian Zetterlund and Tim Stutzle. Zetterlund was Eklund’s Sharks teammate for two years before he was traded to the Senators in March 2025 as part of the package that brought center Zack Ostapchuk and a 2025 second-round pick that was used on center Cole McKinney.

Stutzle led the Senators this past season with 83 points in 80 games, and Eklund’s arrival could help jumpstart Zetterlund, who had an underwhelming year with 17 goals and 33 points in 82 games. He was in the first year of a three-year, $12.83 million deal.

“Obviously a great player,” Eklund said of Stutzle. “He’s been a great player in this league for a while now, so if you get that opportunity, you just do the best you can with it. He’s been doing really good things with this organization and in this league for a while now. Whoever I play with, it’s going to be a fun journey.”