The surprising truth about Celebrini's record-breaking $94 million contract and how it affects Connor McDavid
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Macklin Celebrini just signed the richest contract in NHL history. Against the salary cap, it barely clears what Connor McDavid signed in 2017.
The San Jose Sharks locked up Celebrini on Wednesday for five years and $94 million, an $18.8 million AAV that begins in 2027-28.
General manager Mike Grier announced the deal, first reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Every projection for Connor McDavid now starts at $19 million and climbs.
That framing skips a number worth checking.
The percentage nobody is running
Celebrini's $18.8 million lands at 16.56 percent of the $113.5 million cap in 2027-28.
McDavid's eight-year deal, signed in 2017, took up 15.72 percent of the cap the year it kicked in.
The richest contract in league history beats a nine-year-old deal by 0.84 percentage points. That is cap inflation wearing a record's clothing.
McDavid cannot sign until 2027
The Edmonton Oilers captain is under contract at $12.5 million through 2027-28.
He becomes extension-eligible on July 1, 2027, with any new deal starting in 2028-29.
By then the ceiling moves again.
The CBA caps individual hits at 20 percent of the upper limit, which is $22.7 million at today's 2027-28 number.
There is a second shift underneath this. Leo Carlsson reached $18 million on a matched Philadelphia Flyers offer sheet, Kirill Kaprizov set $17 million, and now Celebrini clears both.
The top of the pay scale is being written by restricted free agents in their early twenties, not by prime unrestricted stars.
McDavid will be 31 and negotiating against a ceiling built by players a decade younger than him.
Predict a percentage, not a dollar figure.
Seventeen percent of a 2028-29 cap gets him past $20 million without anyone breaking anything.
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