Chris Johnston from TSN has reported a major add for the Ottawa Senators forward corps – 2021 7th-overall pick William Eklund is being shipped from the San Jose Sharks to the nation’s capital.
Sources confirm that Ottawa is acquiring William Eklund from San Jose.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 23, 2026
Heading back to San Jose is the 9th-overall pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft – acquired two days ago as part of the return for former captain Brady Tkachuk.
The value of the 9th pick is still quite high for a player of Eklund’s caliber, but he’s not the only asset being acquired by GM Steve Staios. They’re also getting a pair of forward prospects – Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda.
Oh Ek YEAH!
The #Sens have acquired forward William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen, and the rights to Brandon Svoboda in exchange for the 9th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/Q2PYSDVvzN
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) June 23, 2026
Eklund, 23, is a 5’10 winger from Stockholm, Sweden, and played 78 games for the Sharks this past season, scoring 15 goals and 38 assists. He will begin the first year of a three-year bridge at a $5.6M cap hit, and will be a restricted free agent on July 2029, with a reasonable $5.8M qualifying offer.
Halttunen, 21, is a right-shot winger from Helsinki, Finland, and was the 36th pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He played this past season with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, scoring 35 points in 69 games, and the year before in the OHL, he scored 21 points in 17 playoff games with the London Knights. He arguably becomes Ottawa’s best forward prospect with this trade.
Svoboda, 21, is another prospect drafted in 2023, 71st overall. He’s a right-shot centre who finished his sophomore year at Boston University, with 15 points in 35 games, and isn’t a likely candidate to receive an entry-level deal without a big breakout year.
Welcome to Ottawa, William! Nobody is celebrating harder than Fabian Zetterlund right now.