Sheng Peng
Relax, San Jose Sharks fans.
The Leo Carlsson offer sheet doesn’t change much for Macklin Celebrini.
That’s the opinion of one NHL player agent, not Carlsson or Celebrini’s.
On Friday, RFA Carlsson signed a five-year, $90 million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s a league record $18 million AAV.
Celebrini, approaching the final year of his entry-level contact, is not an RFA, like Carlsson. So while Celebrini is eligible for an extension as of July 1, he’s not eligible for an offer sheet this summer.
So long as the San Jose Sharks take care of business with Celebrini this off-season — and there’s no reason to believe that they won’t — there’s no offer sheet coming for Celebrini.
The big change is simply San Jose Sharks fans resetting expectations for what Celebrini is going to make on his next contract.
21-year-old Carlsson was offer sheeted because of how good he is for his age.
There’s no question about 20-year-old Celebrini’s quality: As just a sophomore, he was fourth in the Hart Trophy voting, a conversation that even Carlsson doesn’t approach.