This is a STEAL for the Sharks…
This is a steal for the Sharks as free agency opens with a William Ecklund extension. And what a deal this is. A lot of Sharks fans are fired up about this, including myself. We’re going to break everything down about this deal and talk about uh Michael Misa and his first time on the ice in San Jose. So, you’re not going to want to miss this episode of Sharks Digest. But before we dive into all that, just got to say 66% of you guys watching these videos aren’t subscribed to the channel. We’re going to be here every day keeping you up to date on the latest Sharks news. And today is free agent frenzy. We are going to be covering a lot of Sharks uh signings uh for the coming days and it’s going to be an exciting time to be a Sharks fan. You don’t want to miss out on anything. Make sure to hit that subscribe button. But with that said, we had some huge news drop just after free agency opened and that is William Ecklund is staying uh in San Jose signed an extension that will come into place not this season but next season. And as we see here from Curtis Pashulka on Twitter uh he says William Meckllin has signed a three-year deal at 5.6 million AAV. The deal begins in 2627. And this is a steal of a contract. I mean, when I first seen this 5.6 number, I was like, what a deal that that Mike Greer and the San Jose Sharks got this guy up because I definitely think on an like seven and eightyear deal. This guy could easily easily be getting the, you know, Matthew Ny type deal like he got like a 7.75 around that $7 million range. I think this is great for the Sharks and great for the player in William Ecklund here as well because he is going to now be able to uh in four years time be able to go back uh into you know free agency or resign with this Sharks team because they were they will be in the competing window at that time and get you know his best contract then this is more like a bridge deal which you know where it gives him a few years here to kind of you know prove that he’s worth the big money. And then in those in the that four years time when he does come up to another contract, the cap will be up. Players will be getting paid a lot more money. And then he can sign that 8-year deal and maximize his uh his own, you know, financial gain uh by signing a contract like this. I think it’s great for the player and it’s great for him that he’s going to be able to have so much financial success uh with this deal, but it’s also great for the San Jose Sharks where, you know, they’re going to have a lot of big deals to dish out. Obviously, you know, you got Min Cabrini, Will Smith, William Mecclin, you know, in four years time he’s going to have a big deal. There’s going to be a lot of big deals tossed around here in the Bay Area. So, I think it gives Mike Greer and um the San Jose Sharks, you know, a little bit more wiggle room over the next four years to get those, you know, immediately those immediate deals done like the Celebrities, like the Will Smith, and then when it comes back around in four years time, you know, Eklan will be able to uh get paid at that point in time. I love this deal. I think is the perfect number for William Ecklund for what he provides to this team. I mean, we seen early contract extension projections uh from Scotia Stack Card saying they were seeing them around 9 million for that 78-year deal. You know, maybe a little bit less, but like you see here, they have that four-year deal at 7.8. So, you know, they’re they’re he’s getting two you’re getting two almost yeah over $2 million. Um you know, off of this projection, I think it is a great deal. It is a great team friendly deal which just means the Sharks continue and continue to save money and it’s just such a great um thing. I love this. I think if he signed a higher deal, he would got to pay a lot more money, but it does help the organization and him over the next four years be able to get more money uh in that in that long term, which I think is definitely great uh for him and a great decision on his part. But getting into a little bit of William Ecklund and how he did play and why I do think that this is the best contract for him. I mean, look, he just coming off a 58 point season in 77 games where he had 41 assists, 17 goals. Obviously, he’s the big left winger on Macklin’s side. Him and Mlin have and Tofoley have built up some great connection on that top line. A very fantastic line to watch. And I mean, yeah, look, he’s 22 years old. four years time, this guy’s going to be 26 going into, you know, a deal where which would lead him into his 30s into the end into the ends of his NHL career. So, great deal by Mike Greer and the Sharks here. I I really do love this player and I think he he maybe he doesn’t get talked about enough in uh in San Jose just because of, you know, how many great prospects are there. I do think a lot of fans of the Sharks, you know, always know how good Ecklund is, but the, you know, the larger media doesn’t know how good of a player this guy is, and he he he really is that. And I mean, looking at at this table from ATB projections here, uh, this is how he did play last season. He’s a pure playmaker. 90% on the passing there. 96% on penalty differential. Very disciplined disciplined player is William Ecklund saying, you know, he’s 73% on the speed, 71% on the shot power. He’s a fast guy, has a hard shot and, you know, he half over half the time he’s getting into those high dangerous areas creating problems for other teams. You see some similar deals here uh from you know what he just signed uh which you know you have Machelli there B Barakovski Kasbury Kaan Trovinan I think these are all around similar deals to what uh we what he did get. I think these are kind of you know the you know the type of players that he should be in the the ballpark of. Obviously, we see some lower AEVs in those comparable contracts, but uh I definitely do think he is worth this money and a lot more. This is a huge deal for the San Jose Sharks today. Uh one that I was not expecting. I was expecting them to go out and, you know, obviously sign an extension with William Ecklund. I think it’s the great way to start off free agency by getting that out of the way. Nobody’s worried about that going into the season anymore. you have him locked up for four more years or three more years and four including this season where the deal doesn’t kick into the 26 267 season. This is so great. Love this deal. Want to hear your guys thoughts on the deal down below. I know a lot of you guys will probably agree with me that this was a fantastic deal. I mean uh but switching gears here, we see big Michael Misa taking his first steps on uh with Sharks development camp undergoing. Seeing him wearing the 77. Great number for Michael Misa there. This guy is going to be fantastic. I’m so excited that he is a San Jose Shark. Wanted to share that with you guys because uh there’s a lot of interesting clips uh on Max Miller’s Twitter actually. So, if you’re looking to see these, you know, clips in full, make sure to go check out his Twitter. He had a great clip of where Michael Misa and Simon Wang actually went on one-on-one headtohead. And I loved it. I see love seeing these two guys who I’m falling in love with as players on this team, you know, kind of battling it out here in development. Cap. It’s so great to see. Great stuff there uh for the Sharks and Michael Mises. Great to see him on the ice. But like I said, the big story of today is the William Ecklan extension. Very excited that this guy is going to be a Shark for at least four more years. I mean, you just look at these lines. Uh he’s, you know, obviously that top line has been so good for this team. He’s been a key part of the power play as well and he’s only going to keep better as he gets older and older. I mean, he’s 22 right now. He’s soon going to be hitting the prime of his career and he’s going to be uh dishing out a lot of points here in San Jose once this team starts getting going. But want to hear your guys thoughts on the deal. Want to hear you guys thoughts on Misa wearing 77 down below in the comments section. Also want to know who was the last shark to wear 77. I didn’t look that up before the video. I’d love to hear from you guys in the comment section. If you enjoyed, leave a like, subscribe to the channel. As always, I’ve been your host KC.
0:00 San Jose Sharks News
0:30 Sharks Just Robbed The NHL
The San Jose Sharks extend William Eklund to a steal of a deal, and Michael Misa shows off his new jersey number. KC breaks it down on this episode of Sharks Digest.
Sharks Digest is a YouTube channel that delivers the latest news, trades, reports, and rumors about the San Jose Sharks. We provide comprehensive coverage of game highlights, player performances, and analysis of team strategies. Our channel discusses key players like Logan Couture, Macklin Celebrini, Mario Ferraro, and Fabian Zetterlund, along with insights from Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky and General Manager Mike Grier. Stay tuned for exciting updates and engaging content on everything Sharks!
Macklin Celebrini, Thomas Bordeleau, Logan Couture, Ty Dellandrea, Barclay Goodrow, Mikael Granlund, Klim Kostin, Luke Kunin, Andrew Poturalski, Will Smith, Nico Sturm, Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg, Igor Chernyshov, William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, Ethan Cardwell, Walker Duehr, Carl Grundstrom, Nikolai Kovalenko, Mario Ferraro, Timothy Liljegren, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Jan Rutta, Henry Thrun, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Jake Walman, Alexandar Georgiev, and Vitek Vanecek.
8 comments
Its actually a steal for Eklund. The sharks benefit from a long term deal not a short one.
Yes a long term deal would have been better. The sharks have so much cap space that they could afford to pick up at least one long term deal. Would like to see them pick up someone to flip at the deadline but most of the talent has been taken at this point. Thank you for your coverage. P.S. if you need to get into contact with Max Miller, I grew up playing hockey with him and could get you into contact if you haven't already.
According to hockey reference no one has worn 77 for the Sharks! Misa will be the first!
Love the outro line keep your stick on the ice
Nice coverage. Keep it up!
Bring back gadjovich,
I'm sure the Sharks would have preferred the 8 year deal.
I'd guess the per season, for an 8 year, has a bit of a gap between expectations.
Eklund could have also taken less than he's worth intentionally, but with the shorter contract he should be in his prime when the next contract comes along. That could be a lot more money over 11 years than if he had signed an 8 year extension today.
He might have also taken less, so the Sharks can be collectively stronger.
I'd say this is the opposite of a steal. If he has 3 seasons of 70+ points he could easily demand 8×10 in his next contract. That would make things very tight. Especially as Celebrini/Smith would command a higher price than Ekky.