The San Jose Sharks have taken care of an important piece of business. News emerged at the start of the free agent period that forward William Eklund has been extended. The agreement is a three-year contract worth $16.8 million. This contract has an average salary cap hit of $5.6 million and runs through the end of the 2028-29 season.
Sharks insider Curtis Pashelka was first to break news of the deal.
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) July 1, 2025
William Eklund Extended by San Jose Sharks for Three Years
Eklund has only played for the Sharks over his four-year NHL career. He totaled a career-high goals (17), assists (41) and points (58) in 77 games last season. The 22-year-old averaged 19 minutes and 33 seconds of ice time in the most recent campaign.
He had a Corsi for of 53.8 and a relative Corsi of 11.9. Eklund has 35 goals and 75 assists for 110 points in 174 career games. San Jose originally drafted in the first round, seventh overall of the 2021 NHL Draft.
The Stockholm, Sweden native has played for his homeland in international competitions. Eklund won the bronze medal for Sweden at the 2018 Hlinka-Gretzky tournament. He was also the Swedish Hockey League rookie of the year in 2021.
What It Means
San Jose has some spending to do and general manager Mike Grier handles a piece of business. The Sharks do have some good young talent with Eklund and Macklin Celebrini. There still needs to be some work done, but this a good signing to keep the offer sheets away from Eklund.
This deal allows the Swede to bet on himself and settle for an even larger deal when the time arrives. The NHL’s salary cap keeps going up and Eklund could score himself a nice raise when that new deal is ready to be hashed out.
San Jose could be in line for a bright future and Eklund seems to be a part of that.
Main photo by: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
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