The Ottawa Senators were quickly able to turn around their trade assets from the Brady Tkachuk departure draft pick haul. Using the 2026 ninth-overall draft selection to trade for and acquire William Eklund from the San Jose Sharks is an interesting and efficient move. The Sens also received forward prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda in the deal. Let’s see how this impacts the Sens roster management for the rest of the 2026 offseason.
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The William Eklund Trade Boost for Sens Lineup
Remember that this is a Sens team, that despite the loss of Brady Tkachuk, they still intend on contending at the NHL level in a very competitive Atlantic Division. General manager Steve Staios was forced to move decisively, otherwise potentially losing the belief in the locker room. It was notably a tough situation to be put in, when your captain requests a trade. Hopefully, the team remains supportive of the process, but we do think they will.
In the acquisition for Ottawa today, William Eklund trade ranking checks highly on a lot of the boxes. He’s a young scorer, who has impressed with his development in San Jose. If he can find chemistry on the Sens roster, he will be a threat to put up big points. Eklund has scored 50 goals, 113 assists, and 163 points all in 252 career regular season games. Furthermore, he plays 18:47 of average ice time throughout his career. There’s a lot to like in him.
There Are Only So Many Options
Just who else the Sens are potentially going to add for their player lineup is tricky. Mason McTavish has been rumoured that does have some potential. He grew up in Ottawa is one strong connection. In addition, Alex Tuch is still available and apparently going to test free agency. After it seems that Jason Robertson’s agent kind of turned down notions of his client coming to the Canadian Capital. For now. The Sens clearly want to add high-end scoring, maybe Jake DeBrusk is a name worth exploring. You want speed and toughness and Bobby McMann already signed.
Mason McTavish To Ottawa? Again? Why The Trade Rumours Have Returned @TheHockeyNews #GoSensGo #SensNation https://t.co/iDFLvaCBxh
— Steve Warne (@SteveWarneMedia) May 31, 2026
It helps to really lean on the fact everyone knows your goal. You want to add a top-line (or close) player, to elevate the skill of your roster. What are we even doing.
Losing Brady Tkachuk was going to cause a huge hole in lineup. The Sens still want a Colton Parayko and Robert Thomas injected into this lineup, but that is going to take a lot of assets and specific ones. Hey, we seen in turn down the Panthers offer, when they wouldn’t put Carter Verhaeghe or Anton Lundell on the table.
Sens Also Acquire a Couple Prospects in William Eklund Trade
Also added to the Sens system is the 6’3″ right winger Kasper Haltunen. He had a decent year with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda with 35 points in 69 games. In addition, the Finn native is almost best known for his work the OHL’s London Knights. In the two years the Knights won the OHL title, he combined for 47 points in 35 playoff games. He has a bit of big time player in him.
Meanwhile, Brandon Svoboda is 6’3″ just like Haltunen. He’s a centre from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In his sophomore season at Boston University, home of the Terriers, he posted 15 points in 35 games. He was San Jose’s third-round pick back in 2023.
Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Players picked with the 9th overall pick between 2005 and 2021: pic.twitter.com/Ed9p3ANYC2
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 23, 2026
