The Ottawa Senators wasted no time trading the 9th overall pick they got in the Brady Tkachuk deal as they sent it to San Jose for a package of young players.
Brady Tkachuk's trade is already having a ripple effect on the rest of the NHL as the Ottawa Senators have pulled off another blockbuster deal.
Ottawa sends a top-10 pick to San Jose for a package headlined by William Eklund
On Tuesday, the Senators traded the 9th overall pick they got from Florida in the Tkachuk deal to the San Jose Sharks for a package including William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen, and the rights to prospect Brandon Svoboda:
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Eklund, 23, had 53 points in 78 games for the Sharks (15 goals, 38 assists) while adding 72 hits and 51 blocks but was a dismal minus-31. He's a young exciting forward who is going to get premium time up front with Tim Stutzle.
Halttunen, 21, is a hulking power forward who possesses a heavy shot, a lot of physicality and some serious offensive potential on the power-play. He was drafted 36th overall by the Sharks in 2023.
Svoboda, 21, was drafted 71st overall in 2023 by the Sharks as well. He is another towering forward who loves to get down and dirty, adds great offensive chops, more physicality and is incredible hard to move off the puck.
San Jose now holds the 2nd overall pick as well as the 9th overall pick in this Friday's NHL Draft, giving them a chance to draft not one, but two franchise-changing players.
The latest domino from the Tkachuk deal falls, with many more likely to come
It just goes to show you that just because a trade is completed, doesn't mean it doesn't have a lasting impact. Ottawa really did their best to recoup something out of the deal and they wouldn't have been able to make this trade without dealing Tkachuk.
It's a silver lining for the Senators who have been through a lot of tension and anxiety over the past 48 hours. They're clearly not going to holdback from making big moves and who knows what else they have in store. The team holds the 25th and 32nd overall picks as well, so they aren't exactly losing out on picking in round one.
Heck, there's a world where both Ruck Brothers are drafted by the Senators and suddenly the team has an incredibly young but exciting core with Stutzle, Eklund, the Rucks, and soon to be Arthur Kaliyev.
That's a very good lineup in a couple of seasons and while Senators fans are incensed over the way Tkachuk left town, they should look at some of the positives. The team cut out a tense part of the locker room and revamped their future pipeline in one fell swoop.
Not too shabby at the end of the day and it's likely only the first of many more moves for Steve Staios and the Senators front office.
Did Ottawa make a smart choice by trading the 9th overall pick?
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