NHL trade grades: Senators add Eklund as Tkachuk replacement, Sharks get another top-10 pick
Brady
Tkachuk Trade
Brady to PanthersInside The TradeGradesMarket ImpactOffseason Trade Board ImpactHow It Affects Other PlayersSetting The StageAnalysisNHL trade grades: Senators add Eklund as Tkachuk replacement, Sharks get another top-10 pick
William Eklund put up 53 points in his third full season with the Sharks. David Gonzales / Imagn Images
By Shayna Goldman and Corey PronmanJune 23, 2026 5:40 pm EDT UpdatedThe trade
Ottawa Senators receive: F William Eklund, F Kasper Halttunen, rights to Brandon Svoboda
San Jose Sharks receive: No. 9 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft
Senators acquire William Eklund from Sharks for No. 9 draft pick
This is the second trade in as many days for the Senators, who traded captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers on Sunday.
Corey Pronman: Eklund is a dynamic skater and playmaker who can make a lot of highly creative plays in motion due to his great edge work and elusiveness. Eklund has the high-end sense to create chances off the perimeter, but he also has great small-area skills, and despite his size he can create offense at the net. He is a pass-first type of player, but has a decent shot when he does opt to shoot. He projects long-term as a likely second-line wing.
Halttunen, 21, is a big, powerful winger with very good hands and a bullet shot that projects to beat NHL goalies from range. His skating and pace are not the best, though, and he can make questionable decisions with the puck. When he’s competing and knocking guys around with his body, he looks like a legit NHL player, but his compete can be inconsistent. He projects as a bottom-six wing.
Svoboda’s offensive production will never inspire, but he’s a clear NHL athlete who has a lot of attributes for the next level. The 21-year-old forward is big, fast and direct, with good hands, and he provides value at both ends of the ice. Svoboda doesn’t make many plays, but he has enough touch to get a few points versus men.
San Jose’s main asset is the No. 9 pick, which seems almost assured to be a top defenseman prospect in the 2026 draft — perhaps a player such as Daxon Rudolph, Keaton Verhoeff or Malte Gustafsson. They are equivalent prospects to Eklund, but at a more premium position. San Jose navigates their position of strength (wing) in a way to get in at the back end of a strong top-10 group of defense prospects. It is impressive work by GM Mike Grier.
Ottawa addresses their forward need, but it’s obviously a steep drop off from Brady Tkachuk to Eklund.
Sharks grade: A
Senators grade: B
Shayna Goldman: The Senators could have viewed the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft as a chance to find their next franchise forward in Tkachuk’s absence. The problem is, that would take a lot more patience, and Ottawa may not have it after rebuilding all the way to this point. So it makes sense management is using parts of the Tkachuk return to retool this forward group on the fly.
Adding two forward prospects is a nice get, but the centerpiece is obviously Eklund. He really isn’t a Tkachuk replacement and likely can’t fill his spot on Day 1. But at 23 years old, he shows a lot top-six promise. His playmaking is developing into a real strength; he set up a ton of his teammates’ chances this season with some high-danger passes. Those are some of the shared traits that make Nikolaj Ehlers a really exciting comp. Pair Eklund’s passing with his defensive growth, and there’s a path to him becoming a true shutdown forward, such as Elias Lindholm or Brandon Hagel.
The Senators still have a lot of work to do, and more assets to use from the Tkachuk trade, but this is a good start.
The Sharks have already been pretty active in the days leading up to the draft, but this is the trade that should answer any lingering questions about the No. 2 pick. As much as San Jose needs help on defense, that pick had to be used for the best player available, not for need. That likely means Ivar Stenberg, which would have given this team a surplus of up-and-coming talent on the wing. It’s a good problem to have, because it allows management to make deals to address that, and this trade is a proactive start.
The risk is that the Sharks are giving up on Eklund too soon, but the No. 9 pick is a pretty valuable asset to work with, whether management uses it to deepen its pipeline (potentially with a high-end defenseman) or as yet another trade asset. San Jose is poised to have three first-rounders in this year’s draft, which would move the needle on its rebuild. This team just keeps creating more options to build.
Sharks grade: A-
Senators grade: B+
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price subsidising their life by livestreaming
Venezuela Fury and her husband Noah Price look to be making their own way in the world by raking it in from their lucrative social media accounts.
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year.
Since getting married and moving in together the couple have been earning thousands of pounds a month, livestreaming their life as newlyweds in their static caravan in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
And fans can't get enough of their regular life updates on TikTok and Kick, which have proved to be very profitable for the pair.
They look to be supporting themselves after Noah denied that he was given £5million by Venezuela's family as a wedding gift.
Despite his wife's huge family wealth, an estimated combined £160 million, Noah recently told his Kick followers that he 'pays for everything' for the couple.
Making light of the claims about Venezuela's millionaire financial status, Noah said: 'I actually pay for everything unfortunately. You'd expect the millionaire to pay for it wouldn't you.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price are earning thousands livestreaming their caravan life - after her new groom insisted he pays all the bills and denied he had £5m handout from her dad
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury , 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year
Venezuela then asked their fans: 'Do you think I am a millionaire?'
Noah joked: 'She isn't a secret millionaire guys', before she broke into song and sang: 'But I live like a millionaire!'
But it seems according to estimated calculations from their social media work, Noah and Venezuela can more than afford to support themselves.
Noah has been livestreaming on platforms such as Kick and TikTok, where viewers can send paid gifts or donations.
He was previously encouraging viewers to send gifts on his honeymoon during livestreams, suggesting this is one revenue stream.
Both Noah and Venezuela have built substantial followings on Instagram and TikTok. They can potentially earn money through sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate links and creator payouts.
Kick allows its creators to take home 95 per cent of the £4.99 subscription cost that fans pay.
Streamers keep 100 per cent of direct tips and donations, minus minor standard payment processing fees.
It is unclear how many subscribers Noah currently has because this information is hidden, but he does have 7,200 followers which is publicly viewable.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million
In one video on their honeymoon, Noah asked his followers if they'd give them some more gifts now that they were married.
In a TikTok live viewed by 20,000 he said: 'Keep liking our videos people, keep sending gifts.'
After saying thank you to several of his followers he joked they should stick around on the livestream and 'watch Venezuela punch me in the mouth'.
The other half of the honeymooning couple said: 'I am, honestly!'
Noah previously confirmed that the pair don't share their finances after they were asked whether they have a shared bank account.
'She earns her money, I earn mine,' said Noah, as Venezuela joked: 'Yeah, what you gonna do about it.'
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'.
Meanwhile Venezuela is being eyed up by executives for a fly on the wall TV series.
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'
Boasting 1.3 million TikTok followers, Venezuela is already entertaining fans with her honest musings and candid moments, from cooking to kitting out her and Noah's static caravan home.
And following the success of the Netflix series At Home With The Furys, it is no wonder bosses are wanting to draw on the Fury popularity.
A TV insider said: 'The couple are not A-list celebrities but everyone has become obsessed with their love story.
'People are genuinely intrigued by them. Whether it’s the fact they have married so young, Venezuela’s famous family or their gypsy lifestyle, they have the ‘X factor'.
'Several TV executives think a proper fly-on-the-wall series following their lives as newlyweds in the gypsy community would be fascinating,' they told The Sun.
It is thought Netflix would be likely to produce the series due to their already established relationship with the Furys.
Venezuela's representatives told The Daily Mail: 'We have many offers on the table regarding Venezuela which we are discussing.'
