One NHL team faces huge problem after Macklin Celebrini’s record contract

Macklin Celebrini just reset the NHL's salary landscape with a historic extension, and the ripple effects are already reaching every young star in the league. But one of the brightest among them insists he is not paying attention to the numbers.

The San Jose Sharks locked up their franchise center to a five-year deal worth $18.8 million per season earlier on Wednesday. That average annual value makes the 20-year-old the highest-paid player in the NHL when the contract kicks in for the 2027-28 season.

Celebrini earned the payday with a spectacular sophomore campaign. He tallied 45 goals and 70 assists for 115 points, finishing fourth in league scoring behind Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, and Nathan MacKinnon while shattering Joe Thornton's franchise single-season record in San Jose.

His deal leapfrogs the recent extensions signed by Leo Carlsson, who landed an $18 million AAV after the Philadelphia Flyers submitted an offer sheet that Anaheim matched, and Connor Bedard, who agreed to a five-year, $75 million pact with Chicago.

That rapidly escalating market is precisely what makes New York Islanders young star defenseman Matthew Schaefer's situation so fascinating.

Schaefer, the reigning Calder Trophy winner, still has one year remaining before he is eligible for an extension. In an interview with NHL.com's Dave McCarthy at the Smilezone Foundation Celebrity Golf Tournament, the 18-year-old blueliner was asked how the Bedard and Carlsson deals might shape his next contract.

His response was refreshingly unbothered.

"I'll let my agent think about that. I don't need to think about that," Schaefer told McCarthy. "I'm still a kid. I'm still a year away from any of that. I love Long Island. We have something so special going on there."

Schaefer's rookie season was nothing short of historic. He scored 23 goals in 82 games, setting the NHL record for most goals by an 18-year-old defenseman and tying the all-time mark for most goals by a rookie blueliner. His 59 points earned him a unanimous Calder Trophy selection.

When pressed further on the financial side, Schaefer was emphatic.

"I don't care about the money. I just want to play the game of hockey, and that's what I love," he said. "If you're just playing hockey and having fun, that's all that matters, honestly, and being with the right people, the right coaches, the right management."

That attitude is admirable, but the reality of the market is hard to ignore. With Celebrini now sitting at $18.8 million, Carlsson at $18 million, and Bedard at $15 million, the benchmark for elite young talent keeps climbing. A defenseman who rewrites record books the way Schaefer did will command enormous value whenever negotiations begin.

The same can be said of Celebrini’s teammate Will Smith, who is also extension eligible, and is in for a big pay day.

I guess time will tell, but most importantly, money will talk.