Macklin Celebrini wants to sign an extension with the San Jose Sharks.<\/p>\n
Celebrini held court in his exit interview on Saturday, discussing his MVP-caliber and franchise record-setting season, if he\u2019s going to World Championships, the captaincy, and his desire to sign a contract extension with the San Jose Sharks this summer.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on missing the playoffs:<\/p>\n
I mean, obviously it\u2019s disappointing. We didn\u2019t make the playoffs, and we were right there. We made a lot of big strides as a group, and we played some good hockey.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on what made this season special for him on the ice:<\/p>\n
I think just the group of guys we have, it\u2019s so fun to come to the rink everyday and be with them. The amount of laughs and fun we had and how much we enjoyed each other\u2019s company and the season just going out there and playing hockey. And we were winning, so it was a lot of fun.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on the fans coming back to SAP Center:<\/p>\n
I mean, our fans are awesome. You saw it there, they sold out the building a couple times in a row, and then we had great crowds the rest of the year. They\u2019re starting to come back, which is what we want. We\u2019re going to keep trying to win some games and push this thing in the right direction. Hopefully, they keep coming.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on the hunger in the room for the playoffs:<\/p>\n
100%, it gave us taste, and kind of fed that hunger a little bit where we want to get back there and get back into that situation. Hopefully next year, we\u2019re in a little bit more of a controlling spot.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on playing all 82 games this season:<\/p>\n
That\u2019s something that every guy wants to do. They want to be on the ice every single game and try to help the team win. That was a big goal of mine this year, especially with missing the start of the year last year. I think just being able to play all the games this year and being available for my team and my teammates, I think that was a big goal of mine.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on how he\u2019s handled his increased recognition\/notoriety this year:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s good. I think our fans are starting to recognize us a little bit more, and the Sharks are starting to grow back into being one of the bigger teams in the Bay and get a little bit more attention. I think that\u2019s what we all want.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on how much change he\u2019s noticed in the locker room over the last year:<\/p>\n
I think it was just as good last year. I may have to keep saying it, that just we got so tight over the course of the year, but winning helps that. When we almost won 40 games, and it\u2019s almost double of what we did last year, you have a lot more fun.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on whether he\u2019s thought about his upcoming contract:<\/p>\n
I haven\u2019t thought about it. The season just ended, and I haven\u2019t really thought about it.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on how he thinks he\u2019s grown as a person this year:<\/p>\n
I think I got a little bit more comfortable around the guys. Getting an A this year, I think it challenged me to kind of be a little bit more vocal and speak my mind a little bit, but at the same time, not going to change who I am.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on what he learned about leadership when meeting with the other alternate captains:<\/p>\n
Just what those kinds of conversations are like\u2014what guys are looking for, some of the concerns that we have, and problem solving. Again, those ruts and tough times, just how to come out of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on what he thinks allowed him to have this kind of season:<\/p>\n
Just the chemistry and the gel I had with my line mates and our whole team. I think we were playing the right way, and obviously, we\u2019re creating a lot of chances and getting a lot of offense, but also I saw some things in my game last year that I knew I needed to improve. Last summer, I did my best to kind of work towards that.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on what he specifically wanted to improve last summer:<\/p>\n
Nothing specific, I think. Times like these, the meetings when you talk to your coach and other guys, just figuring out what you need to do to improve yourself and make yourself better.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on how he feels he\u2019s held up over the season:<\/p>\n
With no break, it was a little tough, but, I mean, every guy was going through it, so there\u2019s no excuses. A little bit tired now, and I\u2019m sure if the season was still going, I\u2019d still have a lot of energy. Now that\u2019s all over, it\u2019s kind of hitting me a little bit more.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on Men\u2019s Worlds:<\/p>\n
I got a call. I\u2019m still thinking about it, I\u2019m not sure what I\u2019m gonna do yet.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on what helped him get to the finish line this season:<\/p>\n
I do think resting when I was told to rest did. I think that was a big key for me, especially with the Olympics and all that went into it\u2014the schedule, how tight those games were, back-to-back\u2019s and stuff. Taking that rest when I was able to, I think it helped a lot.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on his resistance to maintenance days:<\/p>\n
Yeah, I think that was more last year. I think I had a conversation with them at the start of the year and throughout the year, and they\u2019re great. Talking to me, seeing what my numbers are, and asking how I\u2019m feeling, and putting a plan together.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on whether this season helped him build expectations for what a playoff season would require physically:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s long, but I don\u2019t think you can really compare the regular season to the playoffs. I mean, you just watched the start of that Ottawa\/Carolina game, it\u2019s intense. I don\u2019t really think\u2014I mean, we got a little taste of it, but until you\u2019re in those playoff games, I don\u2019t think you can really compare it.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on Sam Dickinson and Michael Misa:<\/p>\n
They were big parts of our team. They\u2019re going to be big parts of our team too in the future. Those are two key guys for us, and I thought they both did great.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on what makes Collin Graf a great complement to his own game:<\/p>\n
He\u2019s just so smart\u2014 the way he thinks about the game, and he always has his head up looking for plays. I think that\u2019s something that me and Will do, we like to make plays and read off each other. He also has a great stick, and he\u2019s able to make those plays.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on whether he\u2019s open to getting an extension done:<\/p>\n
Yeah, I\u2019m open to it.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on whether he\u2019s spoken to other players about the extension process:<\/p>\n
Not really. Connor [Bedard] and I are pretty good friends, and I talked to him a little bit just about his situation. Obviously he approached it differently, and every guy\u2019s situation is going to be a little different.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m just open to every possibility. There\u2019s nothing really that goes into it.<\/p>\n
I want to commit to this team and be here, and I love it here. I\u2019m just open to whatever happens. Like I said, I haven\u2019t really talked about it. And I mean, there\u2019s a lot of stuff that goes into it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on what made the team mesh so well:<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t very divided\u2014all the guys hung out together, older guys, younger guys, everyone just kind of came together. We were a team, and no one looked at it as a guy being older than them. I think our young guys liked looking up to those guys and asking them questions, but I think everyone\u2019s comfortable with each other and just talking to each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on what lessons he wants to carry over from the culture this year:<\/p>\n
100%. At the end of the day, it doesn\u2019t matter how old you are, where you come from, as long as you\u2019re in that room, we\u2019re all going to have each other\u2019s back, and we\u2019re all going to be a team.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on the moment he\u2019ll remember most this year:<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a couple very cool wins. At home, just the energy in the building, and that was kind of our first taste of it. I have a few games that I\u2019ll remember and kind of hold on to going into the next year.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on the next steps to reaching the playoffs:<\/p>\n
I think a little bit of it\u2019s experience. We dropped a couple games at the end that maybe we shouldn\u2019t have, but maybe won some that we shouldn\u2019t have too. That\u2019s just how it goes sometimes. I think we need to just make sure next year that we learned our lessons from this year, and stay consistent with what we want to do.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on starting next season on a hot streak instead of a losing streak:<\/p>\n
I mean, that doesn\u2019t help\u2014it doesn\u2019t help when you start the year that slow. You kind of plan to change that.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on what \u201c18\u201d means:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just a golf hat.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on his offseason plans:<\/p>\n
Spend time with my friends and family. I\u2019ll be in Vancouver.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on possibly being named captain:<\/p>\n
I mean, that would mean a lot to me, especially if it\u2019s coming from my teammates. If they\u2019re looking at me like that and they believe in me, that means a lot.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on what it means to be a Hart finalist:<\/p>\n
Those are the guys that I\u2019m looking to to learn from and watch them. They\u2019ve been around for 10+ years, so they\u2019re guys that when I was a kid, I was watching. Even now, I\u2019m still trying to learn from them and see what makes them successful. That\u2019d be pretty cool.<\/p>\n
Celebrini, on deciding to play at Worlds:<\/p>\n
Part of wanting to stay healthy all year and playing all 82 games, it takes a toll, and it\u2019s a little tiring, so I just have to do what\u2019s best for me and what prepares me best for next season.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t really think there\u2019s a deadline. I don\u2019t know, but it\u2019ll probably be in the next couple days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Macklin Celebrini wants to sign an extension with the San Jose Sharks. Celebrini held court in his exit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[52838,4017,116586,7501,93,1035,88,90,89,98,24179],"class_list":{"0":"post-274851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-captain","9":"tag-contract","10":"tag-exit-interview","11":"tag-extension","12":"tag-featured","13":"tag-macklin-celebrini","14":"tag-san-jose","15":"tag-san-jose-headlines","16":"tag-san-jose-news","17":"tag-san-jose-sharks","18":"tag-world-championships"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}