In the 21st century, only three teenagers have recorded 100-point seasons at the NHL level. A fourth, Steven Stamkos, came close, but finished with 95 points. On Wednesday morning, the San Jose Sharks signed forward Macklin Celebrini to a record-breaking deal. He’s now projected to be the highest-paid player in the NHL during the 2027-28 season, although a lot can change between now and then. So, how does his new deal compare to previous teenage superstars?
Macklin Celebrini’s 115 points is the most in San Jose Sharks history, and the fourth-most by a teenager in NHL history. He trails just two of hockey’s all-time greats, Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby. Considering Gretzky’s teenage seasons were almost half a century ago, we’ll leave him out of this discussion and focus directly on Crosby to start.
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Crosby’s first years in the NHL were a little different, as by the time he was due for his first big contract, he had already surpassed the 100-point threshold in back-to-back seasons. As a result, the Pittsburgh Penguins wanted to lock him up as quickly as possible and as soon as he became eligible for an extension, he got his new contract.
Crosby’s first big deal was a five-year contract with an average annual value of $8.7 million. While that is over $10 million less than Celebrini’s new cap hit, at the time, the salary cap was much lower. Crosby’s cap hit took up 15.34% of the Penguins’ cap space at the time, a significant sum, but a manageable one for the best player in the world.
Celebrini’s cap percentage is a bit higher, sitting at 16.56%, but it’s still in the same ballpark. The Sharks’ young star had another feather in his cap as well. While the Sharks had superstars in the past, Celebrini already owns the franchise record for points in a season, something Crosby has never come close to doing because of franchise legends Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr. As a result, it makes sense that the Sharks would have to give Celebrini a bit of a bump.
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Roughly a decade ago, Edmonton Oilers standout Connor McDavid was coming off of his first 100-point season and was the face of a new generation of stars in the NHL. As a result, the Oilers locked up their budding superstar with an eight-year contract that carried an average annual value of $12.5 million. While it was quite a bit more money than Crosby had earned a decade prior, McDavid’s cap percentage was just marginally higher at 15.72%.
Of course, the main difference between McDavid’s contract and those of Celebrini and Crosby was the term. McDavid signed the maximum term, eight years, while both Celebrini and Crosby opted to go with shorter-term deals.
Interestingly though, both McDavid and Crosby have remained at the exact same cap hit for the rest of their careers, at least to this point anyway. While their contracts were sizeable at the beginning, their loyalty to their organizations, while occasionally questioned in the media, was always at the forefront as their careers progressed.
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While many have criticized Celebrini’s message of taking a “team-friendly” deal, in reality, he’s taken almost the exact same contract as other players of his caliber historically. His cap percentage is slightly, but not significantly, higher and unlike McDavid and Crosby, Celebrini has the potential to be the best player in the history of his organization. While that’s not meant as a slight on two future legends of the game, it means that the Sharks have to do whatever they can to keep Celebrini happy, even if it means paying slightly more.
Had he wanted to, Celebrini undoubtedly could have become the first player with a cap hit north of $20 million. Instead, he chose not to and followed in the shadow of Crosby and McDavid by taking slightly less than market value.
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