SAN JOSE – Three days after it occurred, San Jose Sharks ahead William Eklund was nonetheless unable to cover his feelings as he talked about his finest good friend, Fabian Zetterlund, getting traded to the Ottawa Senators.
“Obviously, one of the toughest days in my life,” a glassy-eyed Eklund stated Monday of Friday’s commerce. “That’s a privilege, I would say, too, if that’s one of the toughest days. But it was for sure.”
Honest to say that is the final time the 22-year-old Eklund, presumably a Sharks cornerstone, needs to expertise a day like that once more.
“Now it’s just time to start building here,” stated Eklund, who did communicate with basic supervisor Mike Grier after the Zetterlund commerce. “Me, personally. I think it’s time to stop losing. I want to win, and I’m sick of losing.”
Eklund’s not alone.
A sixth straight yr out of the playoff image, a spot in final place once more, and one other season through which a handful of high quality gamers had been shipped to contending groups have Sharks followers and gamers questioning when issues will begin to flip round.
Veteran ahead Tyler Toffoli knew some persistence could be required when he signed a four-year, $24 million contract with the rebuilding Sharks on the primary day of free company final summer season.
However Toffoli additionally is aware of he doesn’t have many extra prime years left to attend for the Sharks to develop into a contender once more.
“Myself, personally, time is kind of running out in that sense,” Toffoli stated over the weekend after seeing a handful of veteran teammates shipped to different groups. “I’m kind of hoping to be back in the mix here next year, if not the year after.”
Grier stated Friday that the choice to commerce Zetterlund was not straightforward. Maybe sensing some rising frustration among the many fan base and his gamers about dealing a scoring winger like Zetterlund in his prime, Grier added that he needs this to be the final commerce deadline the place “we’re kind of shipping everyone out.”
Time will inform, since Alexander Wennberg, Mario Ferraro and Timothy Liljegren, amongst others, are set to develop into unrestricted free brokers in 2026, and the Sharks, now in thirty second and final place within the NHL’s general standings, have an extended option to go earlier than they attain contender standing.
Contemplating all of his current trades, Grier has a whole lot of holes to fill.
Jake Walman, despatched to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, roughly two weeks after his twenty ninth birthday, gave the Sharks a veteran offensive defenseman who normally logged between 22 and 26 minutes per recreation. Zetterlund, 25, scored 24 targets final yr and was practically on the identical tempo this season.
“We lost a great teammate. We lost a couple great teammates, for sure,” Eklund stated. “With Zetts, we lost a competitor and never seen anything like it. We lost a guy who wants to be here every day, wants to work hard every day. He was buying in on everything. But it’s part of the business.”
Different wants embrace upgrading the protection corps, buying a veteran goalie to probably pair with Yaroslav Askarov, bringing in one other scoring winger, and including some measurement and sandpaper to assist the Sharks develop into a tougher crew to play towards, which has been Grier’s aim since day one.
However the Sharks’ entrance workplace does have choices, flexibility, and a superb basis.
The Sharks have a bunch of younger gamers to construct round in Eklund, Askarov, Macklin Celebrini, and Will Smith — all gamers Grier needs to see take a step subsequent season.
“We expect those guys to keep getting better internally, for sure,” Grier stated.
Grier additionally hinted that he may begin to dip into the prospect pool or use a few of his quite a few draft picks to get higher sooner relatively than later.
The Sharks have a mixed eight picks – 4 this yr and 4 subsequent yr – within the first two rounds. Additionally they have a pipeline hailed as one of many NHL’s finest, which is comprehensible contemplating what number of veterans they’ve jettisoned in current seasons.
The Sharks will even have tens of tens of millions of {dollars} in accessible cap area to faucet into. Whereas Grier will likely be reluctant to signal many free brokers to expensive contracts, he is aware of he has to spend correctly and “see what’s out there and start surrounding these guys.
“That’s kind of the idea that this phase, hopefully for the most part, is over of just sell, sell,” Grier stated. “Now it’s time to start building.”
After this yr’s trades, the Sharks have 12 picks between the second and seventh rounds this season and subsequent. If Sharks draft gamers with these picks, as a substitute of utilizing them for extra fast assist, these people will doubtless not be NHL prepared for 4 or 5 extra years, if ever.
Toffoli’s time in San Jose is likely to be over by then, and this definitely is the final yr he and his teammates wish to end at or close to the underside of the standings. They want some assist from administration to make that occur.
“When I came here, I knew it was going to be an adjustment,” Toffoli stated. “At the same time, I was kind of told that it’s going to start going the other way. (Grier) said that’s kind of the last year (a selloff) like that will happen.
“That’s a lot of picks. And for myself, personally, I hope they’re used to get some players and make us better. Because in my opinion, second, third, fourth, fifth round picks don’t end up turning pro until four years later.”
“We’re all sick of losing here,” Eklund stated, “and I hope this was a move in the right direction.”
Initially Printed: March 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM PDT
