With NHL training camps opening on Sept. 16, I’m looking back on my reaction to some of the summer’s biggest stories. Today, it’s the San Jose Sharks signing Macklin Celebrini to what was then a record-setting contract extension. 

Celebrini has only played two NHL seasons, but he earned that whopping pay raise after finishing fourth among NHL scorers last season with a franchise-best 115 points. He is truly a generational talent who established himself among the NHL’s superstars last season and the undisputed foundation player for the rebuilding Sharks. 

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (NHL Images).

Celebrini is another high-salaried player earning the bulk of his money in annual signing bonuses. It’ll be interesting to see if the league allows that practice to continue in the next CBA once the current one expires in September 2030.

Signing bonuses aren’t a salary-cap loophole because the total value of the bonus counts against the average annual value. What it does is guarantee players more money upfront, even if there’s a lockout or an unforeseen event (like a pandemic) that could shorten or shut down a season.

What could make signing bonuses a contentious issue is that wealthy teams can afford them more easily than small-market or cap-strapped teams. That could give deep-pocketed clubs an edge in re-signing talent, especially those eligible for unrestricted free-agent status.

It also creates the situation we saw with Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson. Earlier this month (July 2026), he signed an expensive offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers, who gambled that the Ducks couldn’t afford to match it because of the hefty signing bonuses. The Ducks matched, but it created an expensive headache for them later.

The Sharks had little choice but to sign Celebrini to his expensive new contract. It will also cost a lot to re-sign Smith, something Grier understandably wants to do now before his value climbs again. Misa could also be another high-priced re-signing next summer if he blossoms as expected in his sophomore campaign.

Misa is justified in his excitement about his promising team’s future. However, building the Sharks into a contender got more expensive.

PuckPedia indicates that the Sharks currently have $34.7 million cap space for 2027-28, the first season under Celebrini’s new contract. Assuming Smith gets $10 million annually and Graf $6.5 million on long-term deals, they’ll have around $18.2 million left. That will give them more than enough to re-sign promising goalie Yaroslav Askarov, who is an RFA with arbitration rights next summer, and sufficient space to fill out the remainder of the roster.

However, it could become more costly over the following two years. That’s when Misa, Sam Dickinson, Igor Chernyshov, and Stenberg will be due for new contracts. They’ll also face finding suitable replacements for aging core players Tyler Toffoli and Dmitry Orlov, and for backup goalies Alex Nedeljkovic and Eric Comrie.

The rising cap should help Grier in his efforts to re-sign or replace those players. However, the cost of doing so could reach a point where they run out of sufficient salary-cap space to add the necessary depth to become a Stanley Cup contender.