Sharks sign Macklin Celebrini to five-year, $94M extension
San Jose Sharks signed forward Macklin Celebrini to a five-year, $94 million extension beginning in the 2027-28 season with an $18.8 million average annual value, making him the NHL's highest-paid player. The 20-year-old set a Sharks franchise record with 115 points in his second season.
General manager Mike Grier announced Wednesday that the San Jose Sharks signed forward Macklin Celebrini to a five-year extension worth $94 million, according to ESPN's reporting. The deal begins with the 2027-28 season and runs through 2031-32, carrying an $18.8 million average annual value, making Celebrini the NHL's highest-paid player.
Celebrini, 20, was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft. In 152 games with the Sharks over his first two seasons, he has accumulated 178 points (70 goals, 108 assists), with his second season yielding a Sharks franchise record of 115 points. Last season, Celebrini finished with 45 goals, the second most in team history, and was a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award. His entry-level contract currently carries a salary cap hit of $975,000.
Celebrini's 115 points in 2025-26 rank as the third most by a teenager in NHL history, behind Wayne Gretzky's 137 in 1979-80 and Sidney Crosby's 120 in 2006-07. He also was the leading goal scorer with five goals for Canada's silver-medal-winning roster at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The Sharks improved by 19 wins and 34 points in 2025-26, though the franchise extended its playoff drought to eight years, with no playoff appearance since 2018-19. The young core around Celebrini includes forward Michael Misa, defenseman Will Smith, forward Igor Chernyshov, and defenseman Sam Dickinson. Grier added Swedish left winger Ivar Stenberg at No. 2 overall in this offseason's draft, defenseman Keaton Verhoeff from North Dakota at No. 9, and WHL Vancouver defenseman Ryan Lin at No. 21. The general manager also traded for defenseman Darnell Nurse and signed defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Mason Marchment at the start of the offseason.
Celebrini's $18.8 million AAV resets the market for elite young forwards and signals the Sharks' financial commitment to a rebuild that has yet to produce a playoff berth.
Celebrini's $18.8 million AAV makes him the NHL's highest-paid player after just two seasons with the Sharks.
The extension represents one of the largest commitments to a second-year player in recent NHL memory. Watch whether Celebrini's presence alongside the team's other young acquisitions can end the playoff drought, and whether his contract sets a new benchmark for negotiating power among teenage stars entering their prime earning years.
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