Macklin Celebrini signed a five-year, $94 million contract with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.
The average annual value of $18.8 million makes the 20-year-old forward the NHL's highest-paid player per season, surpassing Leo Carlsson, a 21-year-old forward averaging $18 million for each of the next five seasons after the Anaheim Ducks on July 9 matched an offer sheet that had been tendered by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Celebrini is entering the final season of an entry-level contract he signed July 6, 2024, and could have become a restricted free agent. He set the Sharks' single-season record for points with 115 (45 goals, 70 assists) in 2025-26, playing all 82 games.
"I couldn’t be happier to sign an extension today," Celebrini said. "The faith and support that Mr. (Sharks owner Hasso) Plattner, (general manager) 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."
Celebrini was fourth in the NHL in points, tied for fourth in goals and seventh in assists. Although the Sharks (39-35-8) missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh straight season, finishing four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card from the Western Conference, they had 39 wins and 86 points after finishing with NHL lows of 20 wins and 52 points in 2024-25. That was the second-biggest season-over-season improvement in wins (plus-19) and points (plus-34) in team history.
The Sharks were 26-6-2 when Celebrini scored a goal, 37-18-5 when he had at least one point and 26-3-2 in his multipoint games.
Asked if the Carlsson offer sheet changed expectations for Celebrini’s new contract, Grier said, “I don’t know how much it changed it, I just think it changed the whole ecosystem and the landscape of players and scale. It’s kind of the new NHL and it probably maybe changed things a little bit, but at the same time, we think even before that, Mack would have had every right to come in here and say he wanted 20 percent or $20 million or whatever that (maximum) number is, and ask for that.
“But we’re really thankful that he was open to giving us some flexibility.”
As for whether the Sharks would like to have signed Celebrini to a longer-term deal, Grier said, “I think every manager who has a player like Macklin, of his quality and his status, sure we would have loved to have gone eight years, the full term allowed, but at the same time, I think we're happy that he was willing to commit these five years, these five more years with us.
“I get it, every player is different. Some players want the security of getting as many years as they can get, and other players want to kind of see how things go, and I think in this situation, it makes all the sense in the world for Macklin to commit these five years to us, which we're happy about. But at the same time give them some flexibility to look and see where the (NHL salary) cap is in five years, see how the team's doing, how the team's involvement evolved. Are we winning? Are we on track to win, and things like that?”
Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, has 178 points (70 goals, 108 assists) in 152 games. He helped Team Canada win a silver medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics and finished with 10 points (five points, five assists), second in the tournament behind Connor McDavid's 13 and the most by a teenager in an Olympics featuring NHL players. He also led the Olympics in goals, which tied Jarome Iginla from the 2010 Vancouver Games for the most by a Canadian in a single Olympics with NHL participation.
The native of North Vancouver said after the season he was "open to every possibility" when it comes to signing his next contract with the Sharks. He was eligible to sign his next deal July 1.
"The season just ended, and I haven't really thought about anything like that," Celebrini said at that time. "… I'm just open to whatever happens. There's a lot of stuff that goes into it. There's nothing really that goes into it. It goes hand in hand with me. I want to commit to this team and (be) here. I love it here."
Celebrini's two goals and two assists in San Jose's 4-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks on April 1 made him the fifth Sharks skater to score at least 40 goals since the franchise joined the NHL for the 1991-92 season (Jonathan Cheechoo, 56 in 2005-06; Owen Nolan, 44 in 1999-00; Patrick Marleau, 44 in 2009-10; Joe Pavelski, 41 in 2013-14).
He was a finalist for the 2025 Calder Trophy awarded to the NHL rookie of the year, won by Montreal Canadiens defensemen Lane Hutson.
Will Smith, a 21-year-old forward whom Grier said "we'd like to lock up long term as well," can become a restricted free agent following this season after he had an NHL career-high 59 points (24 goals, 35 assists) in 69 games last season. Forward Ivar Stenberg, the No. 2 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, signed his entry-level contract July 2, part of a productive offseason when San Jose added forward Mason Marchment, defenseman Jacob Trouba and goalie Eric Comrie via free agency. The Sharks also landed veteran defenseman Darnell Nurse in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers for defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp.
"I think we're building something pretty special," 19-year-old center Michael Misa said. "I think you saw it a bit last year. We were right there for the playoffs."
NHL.com staff writers Derek Van Diest and Mike Zeisberger, and independent correspondent Max Miller contributed to this report
