Huge trade offer surfaces involving the Sharks’ second overall pick!

The 2026 NHL Draft is still days away, but the San Jose Sharks are already reshaping their roster and stockpiling assets at a pace that has the hockey world buzzing. After pulling off a significant trade on Tuesday, the franchise now finds itself sitting on a war chest of draft picks and fielding serious interest from multiple teams eager to move up in the draft order.

On Tuesday, San Jose sent forward William Eklund, prospect Kasper Halttunen, and the rights to college forward Brandon Svoboda to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for the ninth overall pick in the 2026 draft. That selection had only recently landed in Ottawa’s hands after the Senators dealt captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers on Sunday. For Senators GM Steve Staios, the acquisitions represent an attempt to reload quickly after losing Tkachuk, with Staios emphasizing that there are “a number of different ways” to build a contender through draft assets and trades.

The deal gives San Jose a remarkable eight picks in this year’s draft, including the second and ninth overall selections. Only two of those eight picks, the second and the 201st, are the team’s original selections. The rest were acquired through trades, underscoring how aggressively the Sharks have been wheeling and dealing.

But the biggest storyline heading into Friday’s first round in Buffalo may be whether San Jose even keeps that coveted second overall selection. Sharks general manager Mike Grier revealed that five teams have been “consistently serious” in their pursuit of the pick and that he has already received a couple of legitimate trade offers. Grier expects the conversations to intensify as the draft approaches.

The possibility of trading the second pick would give San Jose even more ammunition to accelerate its rebuild. The Sharks missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh consecutive season in 2025-26, finishing just four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the final Western Conference wild card spot. That near-miss suggests the franchise is closer to competing than its draft position might indicate, which makes the decision around the second pick all the more fascinating.

Whether Grier ultimately decides to keep the pick or deal it for a package that further bolsters the roster and prospect pipeline, the Sharks appear to be entering the draft with more leverage and options than any other team. With the first round set for Friday evening, the clock is ticking for rival GMs to put together an offer San Jose cannot refuse.