Macklin Celebrini isn’t pretending money won’t matter when his next contract comes around. But the Sharks star also isn’t hiding the bigger picture.
Celebrini said he would be open to taking less if it helps San Jose build a better team around him, pointing to the kind of financial flexibility players like Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon have created for their clubs.
"Yeah, 100%," Celebrini told ESPN's Greg Wyshynski when asked if financial sacrifices made by Crosby and MacKinnon could lead him to do the same on his next deal. "I mean, that's why all of us play.
We want to win. We're competitive and we want to win.
"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, 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."
That mindset lines up with the examples he’s had around Team Canada. Crosby has stayed on an $8.7 million salary since 2008, MacKinnon signed for $12.6 million a year in 2022, and Connor McDavid also passed on a raise on his last contract, instead agreeing to a two-year extension in 2025 with a $12.5-million average annual value.
For now, though, Celebrini isn’t in any hurry to lock in his own future. He has one year left on his entry-level deal and has been eligible for an extension since July 1.
"I think it's just whenever it makes sense for both sides," Celebrini said. "I still have a year left.
There's no reason to rush. But yeah, I think we'll kind of see how it goes."
The number, whenever it comes, could be massive. With the NHL salary cap climbing fast, Celebrini could realistically land an AAV of $20 million or more. Leo Carlsson briefly became the league’s highest-paid player at $18 million per season after the Philadelphia Flyers signed him to a five-year, $90 million offer sheet, before the Anaheim Ducks matched it Thursday.
Celebrini, who turned 20 in June, is coming off a huge sophomore season. He finished fourth in Hart Trophy voting after piling up 115 points in 82 games, and on Tuesday he was named the NHL 27 cover athlete.
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