William Eklund’s first season with Ottawa has been put on pause, and that means the Sharks won’t see him when the teams meet twice later this month.
Ottawa coach Travis Green said Thursday that Eklund will be sidelined 10-12 weeks after undergoing surgery this week to repair an ankle tendon. The injury happened in the Senators’ Oct. 8 game against Philadelphia, when Eklund was hit into the boards by Flyers defenseman Simon Benoit early in the first period and went down in obvious pain.
The missed time wipes out both matchups with San Jose this season. The Sharks are set to visit Canadian Tire Centre on Oct. 22 and then host the Senators at SAP Center on Oct.
- San Jose begins a six-game road trip Thursday night in Nashville.
Eklund’s absence comes a few months after a major summer move between the two clubs. After winning the No. 2 overall pick at the NHL draft lottery in May, the Sharks traded Eklund, winger Kasper Halttunen and center Brandon Svoboda to Ottawa for the No. 9 selection.
San Jose used that No. 2 pick on winger Ivar Stenberg and then took North Dakota defenseman Keaton Verhoeff at No. 9. Stenberg, 19, has one goal and three assists in six games.
Halttunen is playing in the AHL with Belleville, while Svoboda is in his third season at Boston University.
Before the injury, Eklund had settled in quickly with the Senators, posting a goal and an assist in four games. He turned 24 on Monday.
The Sharks drafted Eklund seventh overall in 2021, and over five seasons he became one of the club’s most productive players. He spent most of the 2021-22 season in his native Sweden and most of 2022-23 in the AHL with the Barracuda, but over his Sharks tenure he finished as the organization’s second-leading scorer with 163 points. Last season, he set a new career high with 58 points in 77 games.
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Senators Lose William Eklund Just As Their New Depth Gets Tested
The Senators injury picture keeps shifting, and the latest blow came with William Eklund undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his ankle. Ottawa expects the former Sharks forward to miss 10 to 12 weeks, removing one of the early pieces it had counted on after acquiring him from San Jose in June. Eklund had already put up a goal and an assist in four games with his new club this season.
Ottawa is trying to absorb that loss while getting some reinforcements back on the blue line, with Artem Zub set for his 2026-27 season debut after a knee injury and Cameron Crotty activated from injured reserve. For a team still sorting out its depth, the timing makes Eklunds absence especially difficult, because the Senators were beginning to lean on the middle of the lineup just as another layer of the roster gets tested. [Read more 🡒]
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Flyers Trade Buzz Puts The Spotlight On One Tough Roster Question
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Across the league, the Flyers are looking at ways to reinforce their blue line with a veteran defenseman, though early-season caution appears to be the more realistic path than a major trade. There is also some internal unease around Travis Konecny despite his scoring leadership, which only adds to the sense that Philadelphia may spend the opening stretch trying to sort out its own issues before making any bigger moves. [Read more 🡒]