The San Jose Sharks just put a very large price tag on their future. Macklin Celebrini signed a five-year extension worth $18.8 million per season today, turning his record-setting sophomore campaign into a $94 million vote of confidence.
The Sharks announced the deal in San Jose, with general manager Mike Grier calling Celebrini one of the premier players in the world and the centerpiece of the club’s young core, according to the Sharks announcement. Celebrini said he was building something special with the organization and wants to help bring a Stanley Cup to San Jose.
The five-year, $94 million agreement gives Celebrini the NHL’s highest average annual value, The Athletic reported. His $18.8 million AAV moves above Leo Carlsson’s $18 million mark, which had briefly become the league’s richest deal earlier this month, according to NHL.com.
A Historic Season Made The Contract Inevitable
Celebrini finished last season fourth in the NHL with 115 points, including 45 goals and 70 assists, and broke Joe Thornton’s Sharks record for points in a single season. The club’s announcement notes that he became only the second teenager in league history, after Wayne Gretzky, to produce at least 40 goals and 70 assists in one season, while Hoodline previously tracked the record chase.
The 20-year-old center accounted for 46.2% of San Jose’s goals, the highest share ever recorded by an NHL teenager or Sharks player, and finished 56 points ahead of the team’s next-highest scorer. San Jose went 26-6-2 when Celebrini scored and 37-18-5 when he recorded at least one point, numbers that make the new contract look less like a gamble and more like an invoice for services already rendered.
Sharks Are Betting On A Rebuild With Actual Momentum
Celebrini’s payday arrives after San Jose improved from 20 wins and 52 points to 39 wins and 86 points, finishing four points outside the Western Conference playoff field. The Sharks also added veteran defensemen Jacob Trouba and Darnell Nurse, along with forward Mason Marchment, as the front office tries to turn a promising young roster into a postseason team.
The front office still has work to do after locking up its biggest star. San Jose must continue sorting out deals for Will Smith and Collin Graf, while the five-year term gives the Sharks a shorter runway with Celebrini than an eight-year maximum contract would have provided.
For a franchise that has missed the playoffs since the 2018-19 season, the message is unmistakable: Celebrini is no longer merely the face of the rebuild; he is the financial center of it, too. The Sharks open the 2026-27 season at SAP Center against the Florida Panthers on October 1, with a record contract and a dramatically higher set of expectations waiting in the wings.
