The big news circulated around the NHL on Wednesday and it involved Macklin Celebrini. No, it didn't involve a Netflix documentary that would've had 20-year-old girls glued to their television screens. Instead, it involved a five-year, $18.8 million AAV deal that will eat up the San Jose Sharks' salary cap for years.
Breaking: The Sharks have signed forward Macklin Celebrini to a five-year contract extension worth $18.8 million AAV, the team announced.
— ESPN (@espn) July 29, 2026
The deal makes him the NHL's highest paid player. pic.twitter.com/YSleRUd97O
Now, this isn't to say that the Sharks will suck in the next five years. They have a young impressive core that aims to deliver on a solid rebuilding effort. However, hockey fans have noticed a particular trend among Stanley Cup winners in recent years: solid salary cap management.
Look at the most recent Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes. They don't have a single player making more than $10 million AAV. The same math applies to the Florida Panthers, whose highest-paid player is Aleksander Barkov at $10 million AAV.
The same logic applied to the Golden Knights in 2023, when Eichel was the team's highest-paid player at... $10 million AAV. You'll notice that this recurring pattern helps NHL teams build overall depth in every position. It doesn't matter if it's on the blue line or in the forward group. Having balance and sound structure wins you Stanley Cups every time.
Now, perhaps Celebrini can do what Connor McDavid couldn't do and show up in a key Game 7. Maybe that's the case. However, the gigastar's new Sharks deal severely handicaps the team's plans down the road. How are you going to sign your developing players to long-term deals when you have Celebrini's contract and other deals like Darnell Nurse and Jacob Trouba on the books?
The San Jose Sharks aren't the only Pacific Division team that's literally giving the Vegas Golden Knights an out
It seems that every Pacific Division team doesn't want to give Vegas a run for its money salary cap-wise. The Anaheim Ducks just ate a five-year, $18 million AAV deal to keep Leo Carlsson around. The Seattle Kraken, the Calgary Flames, and the Vancouver Canucks show no signs of competing in the future, opening the door for Kelly McCrimmon to work his magic.
Will this mean that the Sharks are an easier team for the Golden Knights to face? Absolutely not. San Jose has loads of young talent that they can rely on to give Vegas trouble in the future. And yes, the salary cap will go up, which will cushion the blow.
However, the Celebrini contract will give San Jose trouble on the team-building front, giving McCrimmon an out if he stays the course. It'll be akin to what fans have seen from the Oilers and the Maple Leafs, who've saddled themselves with gigantic salaries on limited cap space.
That's something that Golden Knights fans can hang their hat on as the one-sided rivalry trucks on. Sure, the Sharks have a generational talent that can destroy the entire league. But at what cost? That's the big question that will plague San Jose for years.
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