Macklin Celebrini is officially sitting atop the NHL pay scale after San Jose handed him a five-year extension that changes the market in a hurry. The Sharks moved fast to keep their young star in place, and the deal now makes him the league’s highest-paid player while also shutting down any noise about an offer sheet chase.
Celebrini, the Sharks’ 2024 top draft pick, signed on for an average annual value of $18.8 million starting in 2027-28. That puts him ahead of Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson by $800,000 per year, which is a pretty wild jump for a player who is still early in his career.
The number is the kind that makes people blink twice, but it also says a lot about how the NHL has changed. Young stars are no longer waiting around for their turn to get paid, and teams that believe they have a franchise centerpiece are willing to move early and pay big.
Celebrini didn’t hide how much the trust from the organization meant to him. “I couldn’t be happier to sign an extension today,” he said, per NHL.com. “The faith and support that Mr. (Sharks owner Hasso) Plattner, Mike Grier and the entire staff have shown me throughout the past two seasons is proof that we are building something special here. My teammates and I are ready to take another step toward the ultimate goal of bringing a Stanley Cup to this city and its incredible fans. I can’t wait to get going.”
That kind of talk fits the way San Jose is trying to shape its future. The Sharks have a young core that includes names like Will Smith and Michael Misa, and Celebrini sits right at the center of it all as the face of the next wave.
From the team’s point of view, this was more than just an expensive commitment. Celebrini was heading toward restricted free agency next season, and locking him up now avoided the drama, uncertainty, and risk that can come with letting a star get too close to the open market.
That matters even more in a league where offer sheets can create real headaches. Anaheim had to match an offer sheet for Carlsson from the Philadelphia Flyers, while San Jose made sure no one even got the chance to try that trick with Celebrini.
In other words, the Sharks got ahead of the whole thing and protected their own house. That kind of aggressive move can look bold today and look brilliant later if the salary cap keeps rising the way people expect.
At the moment, $18.8 million a year sounds massive, and it is. But in a few seasons, if the league’s money keeps climbing, this contract could start to feel a lot more reasonable than it does right now.
Celebrini also backed up the hype on the ice, which is really the whole point. He followed a huge sophomore season with 115 points, including 45 goals and 70 assists, and that type of production makes every dollar attached to his name feel a little easier to justify.
He even earned a trip to the Olympics, which only adds to the sense that San Jose has something rare on its hands. When a player is already putting up that kind of offense and drawing that kind of attention, teams do not wait around hoping the price goes down.
The Sharks’ move is a loud signal that they are done playing the long game when it comes to their best young talent. They see Celebrini as the guy, they paid him like the guy, and now the pressure shifts to the rest of the roster to keep up with the standard he just set.
