When the Ottawa Senators traded captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, the fanbase didn’t know in which direction the state of the franchise was headed. Just two days later, they used part of the trade return to bring William Eklund to the nation’s capital. Now, the Senators have an opportunity to reunite Eklund with Fabian Zetterlund, his friend and former linemate in San Jose. With 23-year-old Eklund coming off a 53-point season and Zetterlund needing a spark, reuniting the duo in Ottawa could be tremendous for both the players and organization.
The Swedish connection
The on-ice chemistry between Eklund and Zetterlund has already been proven in San Jose. The duo had their most success on the Lund Line, a nickname for the Swedish trio line consisting of Eklund, Zetterlund and Mikael Granlund. Throughout roughly two seasons together in San Jose before Zetterlund joined the Senators, the trio had 524:04 minutes together, 318 shots, 50 goals and a 53% expected goals percentage.
Power play goal for San Jose!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 24, 2024
Scored by Fabian Zetterlund with 18:36 remaining in the 2nd period.
Assisted by William Eklund and Mikael Granlund.
San Jose: 4
Chicago: 0#CHIvsSJS #SJSharks #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/UqOMo49XjS
Without Granlund up the middle, Eklund and Zetterlund had 276:01 minutes together, 110 shots and maintained a similar 46.53% expected goals percentage. This should have Senators fans breathing a sigh of relief as it seems that Eklund just may be the player to bring Zetterlund back to life in Ottawa. Eklund is more of a natural playmaker and puck possessor who complements Zetterlund’s shot and net-front presence.
What’s even more exciting is the fact that Eklund has evolved as a player over the last couple of years. Last season, Eklund spent a lot of time on the wing with Canadian superstar Macklin Celebrini. Eklund and Celebrini averaged 495:03 minutes together and mustered up 330 shots and a 59.13% expected goals percentage. This helped boost Eklund to post 15 goals and 38 assists in 78 games. This showed Sharks fans that he is a legitimate top-six player when he is paired with a talented, speedy centre. Now, it should have Senators fans grinning from ear to ear.
Is Stützle the missing ingredient?
Ottawa has a talented, speedy centre of their own known as Tim Stützle. He and Zetterlund have already shown glimmers of success in their sporadic time on the same line. As reported by Sportsnet’s Adam Vingan, when Zetterlund first came to Ottawa for the end of the 2024-2025 season, the team had a 62.6% expected goals percentage at even strength and out-chanced their opponents by a significant margin when Zetterlund and Stützle were paired together.
With all of this in mind, one would think that Senator’s head coach, Travis Green, would try and reunite Eklund and Zetterlund and hopefully give them a chance with point-per-game centre Stützle. On paper, the trio would be perfect together with Eklund’s offensive-zone playmaking, Stützle’s speed and creativity, and Zetterlund’s shooting and forechecking. Eklund and Zetterlund have already shown success with these types of centres, and Stützle gives the duo an elite centre they never had while together in San Jose.
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