Despite being drafted with the first-overall selection two years ago, phenom Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks is already eligible for an extension off of his entry-level contract. According to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, that’s something Celebrini is more than interested in. In Peng’s report, he quoted Celebrini saying, “I want to commit to this team and being here. I love it here.”
Celebrini’s upcoming contract didn’t get any cheaper for the Sharks, that’s for sure. He had a solid rookie campaign, scoring 25 goals and 63 points in 70 games with a -31 rating, averaging 19:47 of ice time. Unfortunately, he only finished third in Calder Trophy voting behind Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens and Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames.
There were some question marks surrounding his game on the defensive side of the puck, though much of that was credited to the Sharks team at large, rather than isolated to Celebrini alone. According to HockeyReference, Celebrini finished his rookie campaign with a 0.0 Expected +/-, meaning all of his -31 rating was due to the poor play of his supporting cast.
This season, Celebrini took his game to a completely different level. Not only did he take a step forward in his production, but he also has a real chance of being a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP. The 19-year-old finished with 45 goals and 115 points in 82 games with a +8 rating, averaging 21:19 of ice time per game.
Although hockey is a team sport, San Jose’s return to competitiveness this season can be solely attributed to Celebrini. The gap between him and the team’s next leading scorer, Will Smith (59 points), would have been third on the team in scoring (56 points).
He continued his successful season against the world’s best. Suiting up for Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Celebrini scored five goals and 10 points in six games, helping Canada to a silver medal. If he takes another step forward during the 2026-27 season, it would be prudent for the Sharks to extend him as soon as they can.
While Celebrini’s extension won’t cause a domino effect in the upcoming free agent market, it surely will in the restricted free agent market. Since being drafted, Celebrini has often been compared to Chicago Blackhawk Connor Bedard. Bedard’s entry-level contract expires on July 1st, and there’s a decent chance that each side will wait for the other to sign, ultimately using the other as a comparable in their own negotiations.
Given his age and performance, it’s difficult to speculate on Celebrini’s next contract, especially given that the upper limit of the salary cap continues to rise. Recently, James Mirtle, Chris Johnston, and Michael Russo of The Athletic ran a poll of a few NHL agents about this very topic.
In the report, the trio quoted one agent, saying, “Why shouldn’t Celebrini make like 20 million bucks a year? I mean, it’s a lot, but look at that kid. I guess my point with Celebrini is I know it’s not apples to apples because Kaprizov could have become UFA, but if you’re him, why wouldn’t I say, Kaprizov’s getting this, why shouldn’t I make more than Kaprizov?”
Additionally, another agent said, “It’s going to be in the $10 to $17 (million) range, depending on the number of years he’s willing to forgo. If he’s going to go very short-term, it’ll be $10 to $12 (million). If he’s going to give up term, it’ll be in the $12 to $15 (million). If he really wants to push, it could be $17 (million).”
Since the Sharks will only have a few months left to sign Celebrini to an eight-year contract, it would make sense for them to push for that if Celebrini remains open to it. However, using the above framework, Celebrini could sign an identical eight-year, $136MM as Kirill Kaprizov with the Minnesota Wild. If he looks to beat Kaprizov, Celebrini would immediately become the NHL’s first $140MM man, if not more.
Regardless, outside of the change in September that will drop the maximum contract length from eight years to seven years, there’s no real rush for either side. Celebrini is signed through next year thanks to his entry-level deal, and won’t become eligible for unrestricted free agency until after the 2030-31 NHL season.
Photo courtesy of Stan Szeto-Imagn Images.
Celebrini should get a lot of MVP votes.