SAN JOSE – At this point, it’s not about asking why Macklin Celebrini should win the Hart Memorial Trophy this season as the NHL player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.
It’s about trying to find reasons why Celebrini shouldn’t win the award.
There aren’t many, at this point.
In his latest electrifying performance, Celebrini, on national television, scored the tying goal with 1:39 to go in the third period and assisted on Alex Wennberg’s game-winner with 31 seconds left as the Sharks earned a heart-stopping 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday before a euphoric announced crowd of 16,146 at SAP Center.
Celebrini had two goals and two assists, and after both of his goals, Sharks fans serenaded him with chants of “MVP, MVP,” just like they did on Monday when the teenager had two goals and an assist in San Jose’s 5-4 win over the St. Louis Blues.
“We can talk about him all day,” Wennberg said of Celebrini. “He’s a game changer. He’s the leader right here. He’s stepping up and making key plays. He’s making the difference. I feel like everyone’s (giving) a great effort: goaltending, defensively.
“But (Celebrini) just had a little bit extra, and it changed the game. It’s just unbelievable.”
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) celebrates his goal against the Anaheim Ducks in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Going into their game Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Sharks, with 77 points, are tied with the Nashville Predators for ninth place in the Western Conference. Both teams are one point back of the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card spot in the West.
Leading the Sharks to the playoffs would only strengthen Celebrini’s case for the Hart.
Celebrini is fourth in NHL scoring with 105 points, behind only Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid’s 125 points and Colorado Avalanche center and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov, who have 121 points each.
All three of those players have their teams solidly in the playoffs, with the Avalanche atop the NHL standings.
Those players also have established and prolific supporting casts. McDavid is joined by the NHL’s top scoring defenseman in Evan Bouchard, and up until recently, also had forward Leon Draisaitl, who remains the NHL’s fifth leading scorer despite being injured for the last two-plus weeks.
THE FIRST EVER TNT IMPROMPTU DOUBLE INTERVIEW…
MACKLIN WITH A GUEST APPEARANCE FROM RYAN REAVES 😱 pic.twitter.com/HHEy4VN05O
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Kucherov is aided by forwards Jake Guentzel and Brandon Hagel, who have a combined 154 points. MacKinnon is on the NHL’s top team and is backed by forward Martin Necas and two-time Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar, who have a combined 167 points. Makar is currently injured but still has 73 points in 75 games.
Celebrini, who does not turn 20 until June, is backed by a group that’s growing more confident with each day. Sharks fans shouldn’t underestimate the contributions made by second-year forward Will Smith and veteran centerman Wennberg, who are second and third on the team in scoring with 54 and 50 points, respectively.
But the Sharks are simply not knocking on the door of a playoff spot – not even close, actually – without Celebrini.
The stats are eye-popping, to say the least.
When Celebrini has at least one point in a game, the Sharks are 34-16-4. When Celebrini has two or more points, the Sharks are now 24-3-1.
And as everyone who knows the team is aware, the Sharks are 1-15-3 when Celebrini is scoreless.
Want more numbers and historical marks?
Celebrini has now scored on 47.3% of the Sharks’ goals this season, the highest share ever for a teenager. Wayne Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, had points on 45.5% of Oilers goals in 1979-80 when he was 19. Only McDavid, 29, has a greater goal share this season at 47.9%.
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) and San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) celebrate their 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Celebrini felt he was letting the team down recently after scoring just one point in five games from March 17 to 26. The Sharks went 0-4-1 in those games.
But since then, Celebrini has five goals and four assists in three games, and, not surprisingly, the Sharks won all three to move right back into the playoff picture.
“That’s just who he is, right?” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Celebrini’s self-criticism last week. “Of course, we were all frustrated with the losing streak and being ultra-competitive, frustration wears on you, and it can kind of get you off kilter there a little bit with your game. Not just individually, but as a group.
“That happened, and we got it back on the rails. And Mack’s a big reason for that. He drags a lot of guys into the fight. We saw that. We’ve seen that since day one, really. But his teammates have done a really good job as well, helping him and picking him up.”
Celebrini gave all kinds of credit to his teammates for Wednesday’s win, from Yaroslav Askarov’s 28 saves to Zack Ostapchuk’s third-period fight with Jeffrey Viel to Wennberg’s screen on the late tying goal.
Still, the Sharks have only one MVP, and his performance on Wednesday, in recent games, and this season, might not only result in a playoff spot but in the Hart Trophy, voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, in what’s been a season for the ages.
“I’m proud of the group,” Warsofsky said. “No one thought we’d be here, let’s be honest. And here we are, and we’re going to embrace it.”
“I think we had expectations of ourselves. You can say all you want about the division or the position we’re in,” Celebrini said. “The goal is to make the playoffs, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”