When the Ottawa Senators traded their captain, Brady Tkachuk, they were quick to make a counter move and acquired William Eklund. While he isn’t Tkachuk, he has the skill to replace the scoring, just not the physicality. Eklund addresses one need in terms of point production. But can he step up and become an elite winger for Ottawa?
Eklund can easily replace Tkachuk's point production
Well, it certainly seems like he can. At 23 years old, Eklund brings a strong pedigree as a former seventh overall pick and a skill set tailored for the modern NHL. During his time in San Jose, he nearly matched the scoring output in the last two seasons as Tkachuk did. In the last two seasons, he scored 58 and 53 points in respective seasons. Whereas Tkachuk scored 55 and 59 points.
Which just shows when playing behind Macklin Celebrini and William Smith, he can score the same amount of points as Tkachuk did on the Senators’ top line. Therefore, it logically makes sense that Eklund will be able to hit the 70-80 point mark playing on the top line with Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson.
At the time when the trade was made to bring in Eklund, most fans thought it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. However, after driving deeper into his numbers versus Tkachuk’s, it looks like the Senators may have very well found his replacement offensively.
Eklund’s fit next to Stützle is the real key here. He doesn't bring Tkachuk’s raw power or heavy net-front game, but his high-end vision and elite playmaking match the Senators’ pace in transition. In tight spaces, his ability to manipulate defenders gives shooters like Batherson way more high-danger looks.
Eklund won't just match Tkachuk's point total. He will give Ottawa a much more offensiv
attack. It was a bold gamble by the front office, but Eklund has all the tools to make it pay off.
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