San Jose Sharks Make Macklin Celebrini the NHL's Highest-Paid Player — and They're Not Done

The San Jose Sharks just made the most important signing in franchise history, and it might also have been the easiest. On July 29, Macklin Celebrini signed a five-year, $94 million extension carrying an $18.8 million average annual value — the largest cap hit in NHL history, edging past the $18 million record Leo Carlsson set earlier this summer. The 20-year-old who broke the Sharks' single-season scoring record last year is now the league's highest-paid player, and the most remarkable part of the week's San Jose Sharks news is that he reportedly could have gotten more. For a franchise that has missed the playoffs seven straight years, this was the week the rebuild stopped being theoretical.

The richest cap hit in NHL history

The résumé justifies the number. Celebrini put up 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) in 82 games last season — a Sharks single-season record — finishing fourth in NHL scoring, seventh in assists, and fourth in Hart Trophy voting. San Jose went 37-18-5 when he recorded at least one point. He also became the youngest player ever named to Canada's Olympic team, then produced 10 points on the way to a silver medal in Milan, second in scoring only to Connor McDavid. Through two NHL seasons, the 2024 first-overall pick has 178 points in 152 games. "I couldn't be happier to sign an extension today," Celebrini said, adding that "we are building something special here." General manager Mike Grier called him "the centerpiece of a core of talented players in San Jose," which is the driest possible way to describe a 20-year-old coming off one of the best age-19 seasons the league has seen.

How the deal came together

The details are where this gets interesting. The extension kicks in for 2027-28, once the final year of Celebrini's entry-level deal runs out, and carries him through 2031-32 — meaning he can hit unrestricted free agency at 26, in the summer of 2032. The structure is signing-bonus heavy, maxed out under CBA rules for lockout and buyout protection, with a no-move clause activating in the final year. Agent Pat Brisson, who called Celebrini a "unicorn" client, told NBC Sports Bay Area that the process included an early-June meeting with owner Hasso Plattner to establish ownership's commitment to winning before terms were finalized. And here's the kicker: Grier said he was prepared to go to the 20 percent maximum — roughly $20.8 million a year — but Celebrini himself set the number lower. "He wanted to be at 18.8," Brisson said. Grier's version: "He wanted to make sure we had some flexibility down the road … meant a lot to me." The five-year term was also the player's preference, giving Grier what Brisson called a five-to-six-year runway to build a contender around him. "You got to bet on the person first and foremost," Grier said. "In this case, you couldn't bet on a better kid than Mack."

Next up: Will Smith and Collin Graf

The ink was barely dry before Grier confirmed the next items on the list. Will Smith, who broke out with 59 points (24 goals, 35 assists) in 69 games at age 21, is entering the final year of his entry-level contract at a $950,000 cap hit and becomes a restricted free agent next summer. "Smitty is definitely someone we'd like to lock up long-term as well," Grier said this week, adding that if a deal doesn't come together this summer, "we'll probably stay at it throughout the season." Projections around the league put Smith's next contract in the neighborhood of $10 million a year — more if he takes another leap before signing. Meanwhile, restricted free agent winger Collin Graf, coming off a 21-goal, 46-point season, still needs a contract for this year, and Grier sounded unbothered: "I think Graffer is pretty close. Continue to have dialogue with his camp." Grier also waved off the idea that Celebrini's record number inflates everyone else's ask — "Mack's kind of a different cat, different animal here" — which is technically true and also exactly what a GM about to negotiate two more contracts would say.

The roster taking shape

The extension caps a genuinely aggressive San Jose Sharks offseason. On July 1 alone, Grier acquired defenseman Darnell Nurse from Edmonton for Shakir Mukhamadullin, signed Jacob Trouba to a four-year, $33 million deal, added Mason Marchment on a five-year, $33.75 million contract, and brought in goaltender Eric Comrie on a two-year deal — this after re-upping defenseman Michael Kesselring for three years in late June. It's a deliberate armor-plating of a young roster that jumped from 20 wins and 52 points in 2024-25 to 39 wins and 86 points last season and still missed the postseason. The Hockey News' July 28 roster projection counts nine forward locks, with Celebrini, Smith, and Michael Misa as the long-term spine, veterans Marchment, Tyler Toffoli, Alexander Wennberg, Kiefer Sherwood, and Barclay Goodrow filling out the group, and Zack Ostapchuk — signed for four years this summer — in the mix. The bubble is where September gets fun: Graf fighting for top-six leverage, Igor Chernyshov, Adam Gaudette, and Ty Dellandrea scrapping for bottom-six shifts, and high-upside names like Quentin Musty and Filip Bystedt likely ticketed for the AHL no matter how good they look in camp.

Prospects, the Rookie Faceoff, and key dates

The pipeline behind that roster had its own news cycle this summer. The Sharks used the ninth overall pick in June on defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, signed Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg — widely seen as the draft's best pure winger — to a three-year entry-level contract on July 2, and, because Grier apparently enjoys a headline, drafted a 7-foot-1 defenseman, the tallest player ever selected in an NHL draft. Stenberg, Verhoeff, and fellow pick Lin were the standouts at development camp in early July, though The Hockey News cautions Stenberg may need AHL time to adjust to the North American game. The calendar from here:

• September: San Jose hosts the 2026 Rookie Faceoff at Tech CU Arena and Sharks Ice at San Jose
• Mid-September: Training camp opens, with a shortened preseason under the NHL's new 84-game schedule
• Ongoing: Graf's contract expected to close "pretty soon," per Grier; Smith extension talks continue
• October: Season opener, with the Pacific Division schedule expanded under the new format

What the week really means

Every rebuild has a moment when the bill comes due and everyone finds out whether the franchise player actually wants to stay. The Sharks just got their answer in writing, at a discount, with the player himself choosing the number and the term. That's rare. It doesn't guarantee anything — San Jose still hasn't made the playoffs since 2019, and an 86-point team has real distance left to cover — but it changes the gravity of everything that follows, from the Smith negotiation to how free agents view San Jose in 2027.

So the San Jose Sharks head into August with the richest contract in hockey on the books, two more core deals in the works, a blue line that finally has adult supervision, and a September rookie tournament on home ice to show off the next wave. Celebrini asked ownership one question in that June meeting — whether they were committed to winning — and then bet five years of his prime on the answer. Now Grier has his runway, his cornerstone, and no more excuses. The next Sharks news cycle that matters comes when Will Smith's signature joins Celebrini's; if this week is any indication, Grier would rather that happen before opening night than after.