Confirmed Trade: [OTT/SJS] William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen, Brandon Svoboda for 2026 FLA 1st round pick (9th overall)

[Voight]

Lol the Sharks are gonna have picks 2OA & 9OA.

Unbelievable for a team that is already absolutely stacked with young top talent. It's been a long rebuild for them but they are gonna be a contender for a long time.

If all of their picks hit then sure. Jurys still out on some of their previous picks.

 

[nergish]

Man I like Grier, lol

Take Stenberg at 2 and I’ll bet Smits at 9.

And both in the lineup come October

 

[leafsfan5]

SJ probably has the best GM in hockey

rebuilding + getting lottery luck is easy, we'll see how he navigates turning this team into contender

 

[Mattb124]

He was below 50th percentile in defense this year, so below league average. Last year, when he was -7 and not a team worst or league worst +/- was accordingly his best year defensively.

2 of his 3 seasons (including last year) have been below league average defensively.

He was deployed on a shutdown line w Wennberg last year and that line was consistently overmatched. It is folly to define a player based on a stat sheet absent context.

 

[brrt]

Isnt all D gone at 9? Its Reid, Carels, Verhoeff, Smits. And thats that. They will be gone at 9.

No, there's Rudolph as well. Or Gustafsson if they want a more defensive/athletic type.

 

[mattihp]

Eklund? Like hockeybuzz Eklund? No thanks.

It's the son of Djurgården Icon Christian "Fimpen" Eklund.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

Sliced his wrist from a skate at 2025 world championships

And thats an injury to some fans but not other fans? How does that work? Like some oh so tough fans think it tis but a scratch and not a real injury? Surgery is for the weak?

 

[KevinRedkey]

And thats an injury to some fans but not other fans? How does that work? Like some oh so tough fans think it tis but a scratch and not a real injury? Surgery is for the weak?

I think the original intent was to suggest 'some fans' as in 'a few people I've spoken with' have said XYZ.
Not necessarily saying anyone disagreed with the staement.

That's how I took it anyways

 

[coooldude]

Taking the 5th or 6th best D in the draft instead of the 1st is a strategy.

At 9OA with a pretty flat tier of D, taking the 5-6th best D after the 1st or 2nd best forward and overall player is a pretty decent strategy, yes.

But if they want to take Reid and either Rudolph or Gustafsson at 9OA, then they can get both.

It seems more likely Grier is trying hard to shake Werenski free for the 2 and 9.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Eklund? Like hockeybuzz Eklund? No thanks.

That man raised two NHL players in his spare time while working full-time running hockeybuzz you know.

 

[SlapJack]

He was below 50th percentile in defense this year, so below league average. Last year, when he was -7 and not a team worst or league worst +/- was accordingly his best year defensively.

2 of his 3 seasons (including last year) have been below league average defensively.

Jake Sanderson was -14 last year. You play a defensive role with shit players on the ice with you, you're gonna be minus

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I love this move for SJ. You replace Eklund's spot with Stenberg/McKenna and then you draft someone like Daxon Rudolph at 9th overall.
They upgrade their Wings while also upgrading their D.

 

[h2]

I love this move for SJ. You replace Eklund's spot with Stenberg/McKenna and then you draft someone like Daxon Rudolph at 9th overall.
They upgrade their Wings while also upgrading their D.

Prospects don't always pan out, so I think it's premature to say they upgraded anything. Buffalo would have been a powerhouse years ago if this was the case.

Bogosian and Schenn were part of the highly ranked defense prospects in 2008 in the top 5 picks that year. Neither turned into the D that was expected in that top tier.

 

[New User Name]

Fair trade, maybe favours Sens slightly.

 

[DarrylshutzSydor]

Jake Sanderson was -14 last year. You play a defensive role with shit players on the ice with you, you're gonna be minus

exactly, +/- is an indicator but context is needed

 

[RickyHP]

i think theres more to it. id imagine grier is going after a big trade with that 9OA included. if not, id imagine sj takes stenberg at 2 and a top projected D a 9. verhoeff maybe?

good move overall, i like what im seeing

 

[Anaheim4ever]

i think theres more to it. id imagine grier is going after a big trade with that 9OA included. if not, id imagine sj takes stenberg at 2 and a top projected D a 9. verhoeff maybe?

good move overall, i like what im seeing

This is one of the best drafts to be drafting #2 overall as either Stenberg or McKenna are gonna be stars, its like Bedard/Carlsson in 2023.
Would not surprise me if Stenberg has 53 points like Eklund if he's on Celebrini's wing, I think he's that good so in short term they don't lose offense at all and then there is whatever they do with that #9 if its Verhoeff/Rudolph or big trade.

 

[Karelia Hurricanes]

This is a win-win trade imho. The 9th overall might become better than Eklund, but even if that's the case, the Sens can't wait that long. Eklund is still a good enough player who's at least matched his draft pedigree (hasn't surpassed it yet unlike someone like Johnston). Plus, the Sens also get 2 prospects in the deal. The Sharks can now pick Stenberg and a good dman in the top 10.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Nuts! Went to ask AI what kind of pick Sharks could get for trading Eklund. AI responded 9OA. Thought it was oddly specific. Went to HF and in for a shocker.

Vancouver and Chicago alarms must have gone off after this trade. If they had hoped Stenberg would be skipped over and call Grier's bluff, Grier is almost certainly drafting Stenberg now. Vancouver would need to pay a pretty penny if they really want Stenberg now. It wouldn't surprise me if it happens.

Sharks fans before the lottery: "Hope we get Rudolph, etc."
Sharks fans after the lottery: "Sorry Rudolph, etc. Hello Reid!"
Sharks fans after this trade: "Welcome back Rudolph, etc."

There's another possibility. #27 + #9 value wise would be equivalent to #5. Grier could trade up and grab Smit at #5 to go with Stenberg at #2. That would actually be the best draft for San Jose.

I can't wait to see what Celebrini would be like with a real Winger like Stenberg. I can't wait to see what Stenberg would be like with Celebrini.

Stenberg is great but not particularly vital to a Canucks rebuild. Chicago traded their pick for Byram.

 

[HofT]

It's an odd trade for the Sharks since I assumed they wanted to start winning instead of accumulating more draft picks. It's another hole they have to fill in with a maybe prospect that will take years to develop. And it's already been 7 seasons and counting without making the playoffs.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

It's an odd trade for the Sharks since I assumed they wanted to start winning instead of accumulating more draft picks. It's another hole they have to fill in with a maybe prospect that will take years to develop. And it's already been 7 seasons and counting without making the playoffs.

If they end up picking Stenberg at two, they probably feel like they can get Eklund’s contributions out of him relatively quickly. Now they’re likely to add a draft pick that will yield them a prospect that will help address their blue line down the road.

 

[Mattb124]

It's an odd trade for the Sharks since I assumed they wanted to start winning instead of accumulating more draft picks. It's another hole they have to fill in with a maybe prospect that will take years to develop. And it's already been 7 seasons and counting without making the playoffs.

I am starting to get the sense you’ve never watched the Sharks because you know so very little about their players, team construction, and organizational philosophy. And yet you have such strong opinions.

The trade made reasonable sense for the Sharks. Eklund is a nice player but has underwhelmed. Drafting Stenberg at #2 who is deemed to be NHL-ready based on his SEL performance should largely replace him next season with upside in future years. Stenberg sounds like he has the attributes to play with Celebrini (speed/IQ) whereas Eklund dragged him down each time they were tried together.

Neither Halttunen or Svoboda are likely to have NHL futures and the trade opens up 2 contract slots which would have helped the team last season.

 

[HofT]

I am starting to get the sense you’ve never watched the Sharks because you know so very little about their players, team construction, and organizational philosophy. And yet you have such strong opinions.

The trade made reasonable sense for the Sharks. Eklund is a nice player but has underwhelmed. Drafting Stenberg at #2 who is deemed to be NHL-ready based on his SEL performance should largely replace him next season with upside in future years. Stenberg sounds like he has the attributes to play with Celebrini (speed/IQ) whereas Eklund dragged him down each time they were tried together.

Neither Halttunen or Svoboda are likely to have NHL futures and the trade opens up 2 contract slots which would have helped the team last season.

Remember how many times the Oilers kept on getting high draft picks but they didn't always turn out? It wasn't until they got McDavid and Draisaitl, which to me is equivalent to Celebrini and Smith, did they start to improve. And then once they actually started surrounding them with capable players, like Hyman, did they have potential to win the cup. Time moves by quickly and it's better to be proactive than to sit on picks while already have franchise players on your team.

 

[hohosaregood]

Remember how many times the Oilers kept on getting high draft picks but they didn't always turn out? It wasn't until they got McDavid and Draisaitl, which to me is equivalent to Celebrini and Smith, did they start to improve. And then once they actually started surrounding them with capable players, like Hyman, did they have potential to win the cup. Time moves by quickly and it's better to be proactive than to sit on picks while already have franchise players on your team.

When you bring up Hyman, that's probably the reason they traded Eklund. Just not a great stylistic fit for what they're trying to build. As solid of a player as he is, he also wasn't cementing his role in the top 6, especially a top 6 that is already kinda small and not particularly strong. If he was better at any one of the things that he does (defense, passing, shooting, possession, etc), I don't think he gets traded.

 

[jMoneyBrah]

Remember how many times the Oilers kept on getting high draft picks but they didn't always turn out? It wasn't until they got McDavid and Draisaitl, which to me is equivalent to Celebrini and Smith, did they start to improve. And then once they actually started surrounding them with capable players, like Hyman, did they have potential to win the cup. Time moves by quickly and it's better to be proactive than to sit on picks while already have franchise players on your team.

Hold on, let me make sure I got this. Sometimes drafted players don’t work out. But it’s good to draft generational players; that’ll help your team get better. But you still need to surround them with other good players to be a contender. Also because time moves linearly in a single direction, it’s better to do things rather than not doing things.

Just bombs of wisdom being dropped here.