Winners and Losers of Macklin Celebrini's $94 Million Contract Extension With the San Jose Sharks
It's a good day to be Macklin Celebrini.
The British Columbia native is barely two months past his 20th birthday and can't go out for a legal beer after playing a home game with his San Jose Sharks, but he entered a different financial stratosphere on Tuesday when the Sharks announced he'd signed a five-year contract extension worth $18.8 million annually.
The deal kicks in next summer to begin the 2026-27 season, a point at which Celebrini—making $975,000 per year on his entry-level contract—would have been become an unrestricted free agent.
Instead, he'll be the highest-paid player in the NHL. Ever.
"As we continue our goal of building a team capable of annually competing for the Stanley Cup, we want to thank Macklin and his representatives for a respectful negotiation process," San Jose GM Mike Grier said, "and acknowledge the flexibility they have provided to the team in how we allocate future dollars towards the team being constructed around Macklin."
The deal made obvious ripples around the league and the B/R hockey team surveyed the landscape to assign the biggest winners and losers as a result.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.
Winner: Macklin Celebrini
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The highest-paid player in the league. The biggest contract in league history.
As if that weren't good enough.
But Celebrini gets additional "winner" points because he's the best and most important player on one of the league's most rapidly advancing teams.
Not only did the player spike from 63 points to 115 points from his rookie year to his second season after being picked first overall in 2024, but the Sharks went from finishing last overall with a 20-50-12 record to jumping six spots to a tie for 24th and a near playoff miss with a 39-35-8 finish after at 82 games.
And given the 11 other players younger than 30 who are already under contract for 2026-27, there's no reason to believe the momentum won't continue.
Highest paid NHL player. Leader of a team on the up. Cashing in for the next five years. Yes, it's good to be young and good.
Loser: The Pacific Division
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If you read the first one, you already know why this one makes sense.
Individually, Celebrini spiked 52 points from his first to second seasons and the team climbed 36 points and out of the league's overall basement from 2024-25 to 2025-26, missing a Western Conference playoff slot by just four points.
They're young. They're skilled. They're good.
And even though they added some questionable payroll with the signings of Jacob Trouba (four years, $33 million) and Mason Marchment (five years, $33.75 million) and a trade for Darnell Nurse and his $9.25 million annual price tag through the end of the 2029-30 season, there's no argument that the Pacific is on notice.
Winners: San Jose Sharks
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It's almost $20 million per year and $100 million in total.
Which means the Sharks are going to be paying max bucks for a long while.
But have you ever noticed how no one cares about payroll when you're competing for Stanley Cups? And San Jose still has nearly $7.6 million in cap space anyway.
If the team continues anything close to a similar upward trajectory in 2026-27, it'll be in the hunt for a Pacific Division title, which means the playoffs are a formality.
And it feels like it'll be a while before the Sharks return to nonentity status.
Bottom line: It's a pretty penny, sure. But Celebrini is worth it. He's the centerpiece of a good young core and they'll be good for a long time.
Losers: Columbus Blue Jackets
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The Sharks and Blue Jackets don't play in the same division.
As a matter of fact, they don't even share space in the same conference.
But, somehow, the impact of Celebrini's big-money contract probably isn't being felt more strongly in any NHL city than Columbus.
The Blue Jackets have gotten 67 goals, 73 assists and 140 points from center Adam Fantilli across 213 NHL games since plucking him third overall in the 2023 draft.
But the 21-year-old has yet to agree to an extension on his own three-year entry deal, leaving him in restricted free agency for the time being and likely upping the ante on GM Don Waddell when it comes to imminent negotiations.
No, Fantill is not Celebrini at this point. But he'll probably cost something like it.
Winner: Connor McDavid
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Attention: Stan Bowman.
When it comes to guys whose price tags have gone up in the wake of Celebrini's signing, none have spiked higher than Connor McDavid.
No. 97 gave Bowman and the Oilers a break last fall when he signed a two-year extension for what amounted to a hometown discount at $12.5 million per year, but he'll be eligible for another extension at the end of the 2026-27 season and there's little (read: zero) chance he'll react to Celebrini's league-best deal by taking another outlay not befitting his six scoring titles and three MVPs.
The bidding (probably) starts at five years at $20 million per, and the chatter about a possible trade will surely spring up around this winter's trade deadline—and will anyone really be surprised if McDavid winds up alongside Celebrini, with whom he excelled during the 2026 Olympics in Italy, in teal, black and white?
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