He may only be heading into his third NHL season, but San Jose Sharks star Macklin Celebrini is already on the cusp of being one of the league’s highest-paid players by AAV ever.

The five-year, $94 million extension he signed this summer kicks in for the 2027-28 season and will see him making an AAV of $18.8 million per season.

Sharks GM Mike Grier was no doubt more than happy to pay this, but what’s wild is that Celebrini left a nice chunk of change on the table.

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According to Sportsnet, the most a player can be paid per season is 20% of the team’s salary cap.

That meant Celebrini could’ve asked for $20.8 million per year, and the team probably would’ve done it. However, Celebrini is playing the long game to make sure the team is competitive in the years to come.

“I want to make sure that with where the (NHL salary) cap was going, that the number made sense for the team first and foremost,” Celebrini said. “Making sure that everyone can get paid and that we’re in a good spot to build the way we want to build, I felt like we kind of landed on that number.

“Keeping a little bit more flexibility for everyone, and I mean it’s not really a bad thing. I’m committed to this team and this organization.”

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Macklin Celebrini’s five-year deal at an AAV of $18.8 million could prove to be a deal in the not-too-distant future. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images))

That extra $2 million will certainly come in handy down the line, especially when the Sharks really start to get competitive again, and they will.

I don’t think we’re more than a few years away from the team being a big free agent destination again. They missed the playoffs by a few points last season, and with young stars like Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund, and Michael Misa, players will certainly be interested in signing.

Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks could be a team to look out for over the next few seasons. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

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The Sharks get their preseason underway on September 20 in Anaheim against a Ducks team that would kill for some cap flexibility right now, and then will open their regular season slate on October 1 at home against the Florida Panthers.