Disaster strikes the Canucks at the worst possible time

The San Jose Sharks traded William Eklund to Ottawa on Tuesday.

That move almost certainly just closed the door on the Vancouver Canucks drafting Ivar Stenberg on Friday.

The Sharks had already leapfrogged the Canucks in the 2026 Draft Lottery, landing second overall and bumping Vancouver down to third.

The thinking, for a while, was that San Jose might pass on Stenberg anyway. They already had Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Michael Misa, and Igor Chernyshov in their young forward pipeline.

Eklund fit that same mold: a creative Swedish winger who makes plays rather than goals. With that group in place, drafting a top defender at second seemed at least plausible.

Trading Eklund changes all of that. It's tough not to read the move as clearing a roster lane, moving one vision-and-creativity winger out so a better one can come in.

Stenberg is considered the stronger long-term prospect of the two. Same general profile: Swedish, under 6-foot, under 190 pounds, a playmaker first.

Canucks' third overall pick now their most important decision in years

The Sharks just upgraded the position by dealing their current piece to make room for the one they actually want.

What makes this even cleaner is what San Jose got back. The Sharks received the ninth overall pick from Ottawa, which the Senators acquired from Florida as part of the Brady Tkachuk trade.

That gives San Jose the ability to take Stenberg at second and still land a quality defensive prospect at ninth. GM Mike Grier can have both.

The Sharks are loaded with young forwards but genuinely thin on the blue line. Drafting Stenberg and then picking one of the top D at ninth does not require any chaos on draft day.

For Vancouver, the path is now about making the best of third overall. Caleb Malhotra becomes the name to watch.

The Canucks may also lean toward one of the top defensive prospects if they believe the back end is the bigger need.

That question carries real weight. The Canucks finished 25-49-8, dead last in the entire NHL at 32nd overall, with a -100 goal differential.

They allowed 316 goals this season. Adam Foote's lone year behind the bench was not a coaching problem. It was a roster one.

Elias Pettersson finished with 51 points in 74 games and a -30 rating. The face of the franchise is 27 years old and coming off his worst NHL season.

Getting the draft right on Friday does not fix that overnight.

But getting it wrong makes everything harder for longer. The Canucks went 1-3 against San Jose this season. Three of those four games were decided by a single goal or in overtime.

This franchise knows how thin the margin is between rebuild momentum and spinning in place.

The Sharks have maneuvered themselves into a position where they can likely have it all. Vancouver still needs to decide what they actually believe is available at third.

Friday answers that.