The contracts that matters more to the NY Islanders than Macklin Celebrini's deal

Macklin Celebrini's new contract immediately sparked comparisons to Matthew Schaefer.

That's understandable.

The San Jose Sharks signed Celebrini to a five-year, $94 million extension carrying an annual average value of $18.8 million, making the 20-year-old the NHL's highest-paid player. As another young franchise cornerstone, Schaefer naturally enters the conversation whenever record-setting contracts are signed.

But Celebrini's deal probably isn't the contract the New York Islanders should be watching most closely.

That's because position still matters.

Celebrini is a franchise center coming off a 115-point season, the third-highest point total by a teenager in NHL history. His contract establishes the market for elite offensive centers, not elite defensemen.

Schaefer's comparables are much different.

The more significant contracts are the ones that could be signed by Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes over the next year. Both are eligible to become unrestricted free agents following the 2026-27 season, and if either signs an extension before then, it's almost certain to reset the market for NHL defensemen.

That's the benchmark Schaefer and the Islanders will be studying.

At the moment, Chicago's Bowen Byram holds the distinction of being the league's highest-paid defenseman after signing a six-year contract worth $12.5 million annually. That figure already feels temporary.

If Makar or Hughes sign first, it's reasonable to expect they'll establish a new ceiling for elite defensemen before Schaefer becomes eligible for his next contract following the 2027-28 season.

Only then does Schaefer's negotiation truly begin, unless GM Mathieu Darche can get the framework of a new contract agreed with the phenom's camp and sign him as soon as an extension is possible on Jul. 1 of next year. By then, we'll likely know what the new NHL mark his for the highest-paid defenseman in history, and how close Schaefer's number will come to it.

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