By Canadian Press on July 29, 2026.
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini waits to take a faceoff during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl DyckSAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks made Macklin Celebrini the NHL’s highest-paid player Wednesday, signing the star centre to a five-year contract extension worth US$18.8 million a season.
The 20-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., surpassed the US$18 million average annual value in the five-year contract Leo Carlsson signed with the Anaheim Ducks earlier this month.
Celebrini finished fourth in NHL scoring last season with 115 points, including 45 goals and 70 assists, helping the Sharks post one of the biggest single-season improvements in franchise history.
He also became just the second teenager in NHL history, after Wayne Gretzky, to record at least 40 goals and 70 assists in a season.
The first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft has 178 points (70 goals, 108 assists) in 152 career games over two NHL seasons.
Celebrini also represented Canada at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics and world championship, earning IIHF Male Player of the Year honours last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2026.
The Canadian Press
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