Could Macklin Celebrini Take A Pay Cut On His Next Contract?

Macklin Celebrini has already cemented himself as an NHL star and with that, he is now weighing the options of how his next contract will look, according to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.

At just the mere age of 20 years old, he has the world of hockey in front of him. In 2025-26, he carried the San Jose Sharks, scoring 115 points in a full 82-game campaign as a sophomore NHLer, 5 goals (the most of the tournament) for 10 points at the Olympics for Canada, and captained his native country at the IIHF World Championships, winning the federation’s Male Player of the Year award.

Along with all of this, he has a lot more on his plate to think about. Right now, Celebrini is an extension-eligible player. He has one year remaining on his entry-level contract, a three-year, $2.93MM ($975K AAV) deal signed back in 2024, after being the No. 1 overall selection in the NHL Draft in that year. The Sharks are without a doubt enjoying the growth and impact their star man is experiencing in this rebuild they have, especially at a cost-effective $8k cost-per-point, the most efficient tally from an entry-level contract in 2025-26. However, such production will come with a payday, a hefty one at that, when he will become an RFA at 2026-27 season’s end.

Around the NHL, the attention is focused on RFAs and offer sheets. It now shifts to first and third overall picks from 2023 in Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, who both would ideally see their draft class colleague’s situation and view themselves receiving significant paygrades as well. The question now begs for teams with young elite talents like the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets, is: What are our players going to want? San Jose must consider this soon as well with Celebrini.

When asking about the next contract, Wyshynski referred to fellow Canadian international teammates of Celebrini and NHL veterans Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, both of whom opted for taking pay cuts on their contracts to help their teams in the construction of a Stanley Cup roster in a hard cap league. He also asked this in light of the Flyers dropping a bombshell $90MM contract in the lap of the Anaheim Ducks with Leo Carlsson. A 5 year, $18MM AAV contract offered to the 21-year-old Swedish center will make him the NHL’s highest-paid player, beating out Kirill Kaprizov‘s $17MM AAV signed not long ago with the Wild.

“…Obviously, guys want to get paid — as they should, because you’ve got to make a living. There are guys that deserve those numbers that are getting them,” said Celebrini via ESPN, “but of course you want to put your team in the best spot possible where you give a team the ability to make moves necessary to win. I think all that goes into the decision.”