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One thing is for certain: Macklin Celebrini is going to get paid.
The only question is how much the San Jose Sharks will shell out, exactly, for their superstar, and how many years Celebrini will want to commit to on the deal.
With negotiations looming, ESPN's Emily Kaplan laid out what could happen here.
First, she notes that the maximum that the Sharks could offer Celebrini would be eight years at $20.8 million per year -- which equates to $166.4 million in total value.
In her analysis, though, Kaplan also notes that CBA changes are coming, and that Celebrini might not want as long a deal as possible in case future CBA arrangement gives Celebrini a chance to make even more.
"Macklin Celebrini is eligible to sign an extension July 1, and the expectation is the Sharks won't drag this out if both sides are aligned," Kaplan writes. "This is a franchise-defining negotiation. Because this is the last offseason before the new CBA changes max extension length, Celebrini can sign an eight-year deal if it's registered before Sept. 15... Celebrini wearing a 'C' as captain next season is all but guaranteed. But whether San Jose goes all the way to that number, or whether Celebrini wants to commit that long as a 20-year-old in a rapidly changing cap landscape, is a separate question."
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Celebrini is the highest-profile extension candidate this offseason, but Kaplan also mentions Connor Bedard and Leo Carlsson as candidates.
Clearly, this is another group of talented players who have hit the ground running in their NHL careers.
Celebrini just had the third-most points in a season in NHL history for a player age-19 or younger, behind just Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby.
He's also not limiting himself -- Celebrini chose to keep his hockey season going by playing at the IIHF World Championships with Team Canada.
Celebrini will get whatever contract he wants, and the Sharks can't afford to do anything but pay him exactly what he desires.
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