San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) General Manager Mike Grier announced today that the club has signed forward William Eklund to a three-year contract extension worth $16.8 million ($5.6 million AAV), starting in the 2026-27 season.
Eklund, 22, set career highs in points (58), goals (17) and assists (41) in 2024-25, adding six power-play scores and two game-winning goals in 77 contests. In his second full NHL season, Eklund led the Sharks in assists, finished second on San Jose in points and tied for fourth on the club in goals. Over the course of the season, the winger matched his career-long with a five-game point streak from Feb. 4-24 (two goals, three assists) and matched his personal best with assists in four straight contests twice. He played in his 100th NHL game on Oct. 15 at Dallas and recorded his 100th NHL point, a goal, on March 6 at Colorado. He matched his single-game career best with three points (one goal, two assists) on Jan. 14 at Detroit.
In his first full NHL campaign in 2023-24, Eklund finished second on the Sharks in scoring with 45 points, second with 29 assists and tied for second with 16 goals in 80 games. He recorded his first career hat trick with a three-goal effort, including the overtime winner, April 6 vs. St. Louis, and tallied points in five consecutive contests Feb. 29 – Mar. 9 (two goals, three assists). He earned Sharks Rookie of the Year honors in 2022-23 after tallying three points (two goals, one assist) in eight games of NHL action, scoring his first NHL goal on Mar. 14 vs. Columbus.
In his NHL career, Eklund has totaled 110 points (35 goals, 75 assists) in 174 games, ranking third in points-per-game (0.63), fourth (tied) in power-play points, sixth (tied) in points, seventh in assists and eighth in goals among the 2021 NHL Draft class. Additionally, he has reached the 40-point threshold twice, being one of six players from his draft class to post multiple 40-point seasons.
In less than a full season of American Hockey League service, Eklund registered 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 54 games with the San Jose Barracuda in 2022-23, tying for the team lead in power-play goals (nine) and finishing second on the club in points per game (min. 30 GP).
Prior to his North American career, Eklund competed for Djugardens in both the professional and junior circuits, finishing his SHL tenure with 39 points (12 goals, 27 assists) in 89 games over parts of three seasons, earning league Rookie of the Year and Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year honors in 2020-21. He also totaled 39 points (13 goals, 26 assists) over 44 games at Sweden’s U-20 level, split between the J20 SuperElit and Nationell circuits in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
The five-foot-eleven, 185-pound native of Haninge, Sweden was selected by San Jose in the 2021 NHL Draft (first round, seventh overall).
