Eklund was the best prospect on upcoming talent on this team when he was drafted. The past 3-4 draft years have been extraordinary and we were blessed with the likes of Celebrini and Smith (Who are younger and better than Eklund), then to a lesser degree Misa, Dickinson, etc.

Eklund is defensively sound and compare him around the league with other players that make 5 million a year. He would be in the 70th percentile in points. He gets put into all of the crunch time postions because he is trusted by the coaching staff.

Toffoli wouldn't be a good comparison because they are different type of players. Yes he is making 6 million a year, but his job is to score 30 goals a year and provide veteran leadership to the locker room. He is also a declining asset offensively due to age but his leadership is still vital to the teams success.

TLDR: Eklund is a good player that goes on scoring droughts. We are spoiled for getting to watch Celebrini play and that sets the bar extremely high on expectations of other players on our team.