The San Jose Sharks will not face forward William Eklund in either of their two games against the Ottawa Senators this season.
Eklund, who played 252 games over five seasons with the Sharks before the Senators acquired him in June, will miss 10-12 weeks after he had surgery this week to repair a torn ankle tendon, Ottawa coach Travis Green said Thursday, a timeline that shelves him until mid-to-late December.
Eklund exited the Senators’ game against Philadelphia on Oct. 8 in the first period after Flyers defenseman Simon Benoit hit him against the boards, causing him to fall to the ice in pain.
William Eklund was in a ton of pain and needed assistance getting off the ice after a hit from Simon Benoit 🤕 pic.twitter.com/gmMdrkbLRE
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 8, 2026
The Sharks, who begin a six-game road trip on Thursday night against the Nashville Predators, will play the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Oct. 22, and at SAP Center on Oct. 31.
Weeks after winning the No. 2 overall selection at the NHL draft lottery in May, the Sharks traded Eklund, winger Kasper Halttunen, and center Brandon Svoboda to the Senators for the No. 9 pick. Halttunen is in the AHL with Belleville, and Svoboda is in his third season at Boston University.
The Sharks used the No. 2 selection on winger Ivar Stenberg and the No. 9 pick on North Dakota defenseman Keaton Verhoeff. Stenberg, 19, has one goal and three assists in six games.
Eklund, who turned 24 on Monday, had been fitting in well with the Senators before the injury with a goal and an assist in four games.
Eklund, drafted seventh overall by the Sharks in 2021, played most of the 2021-22 season in his native Sweden and most of the 2022-23 season in the AHL with the Barracuda. Still, over five years, he was the Sharks’ second-leading scorer with 163 points. In 2024-25, he established a new career high with 58 points in 77 games.