Macklin Celebrini Signs $94M Sharks Contract Extension to Become NHL's Highest-Paid Player

The San Jose Sharks are locking in Macklin Celebrini to the highest annual salary in NHL history.

The Sharks and Celebrini are in agreement on a five-year, $18.8 million AAV extension, the team announced on Wednesday.

Celebrini, 20, was previously set to enter the 2026-27 season on the final year of his rookie deal before hitting restricted free agency in 2027.

His new extension is set to keep him in the Bay Area through the 2031-32 campaign.

That will put Celebrini on track to hit unrestricted free agency ahead of his age-26 season.

The Anaheim Ducks previously made Leo Carlsson the highest-paid player in the NHL after matching an $18 million AAV offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers.

Celebrini signed his contract eclipsing that deal after establishing himself as one of the NHL's top forwards in his age-19 season.

He tied for fourth with 45 goals and ranked fourth among all skaters with 115 points in 82 games last season.

That campaign made set a single-season franchise record for points while making Celebrini the first teenager since Sidney Crosby to hit 100 points in a season.

Celebrini finished fourth place in Hart Trophy voting after leading the Sharks from last place in the NHL last season to within four points of a playoff spot this spring.

That 36-point jump in the standings was in large part thanks to Celebrini, who ranked in the 99th percentile of NHL skaters in total distance covered as a two-way forward.

Locking in Celebrini on a long-term deal will be key to the Sharks' hopes of making their first postseason run since 2019.

The NHL salary cap is expected to climb by another $9.5 million to $113.5 million ahead of the 2027-28 season.

That's good news for a Sharks team adding on Celebrini's contract after committing a combined total of more than $24 million per year to long-term deals for Mason Marchment, Darnell Nurse and Jacob Trouba.

Will Smith is heading into this season on an expiring contract, while Michael Misa and Ivar Stenberg have two and three seasons remaining on their respective rookie deals.

Sharks general manager Mike Grier will next be tasked with working out extensions for the rest of his young forwards in order to take advantage of years of high draft picks by building a playoff contender around Celebrini.