The San Jose Sharks have honored its franchise cornerstone, Macklin Celebrini, with the captaincy ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The San Jose Sharks have officially given their franchise player the 'C' ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The team announced on Friday that Macklin Celebrini has been named the 11th full-time captain in Sharks history.
Celebrini will fill the vacancy left by Logan Couture, who held the captaincy from the start of the 2019-20 season until April 2025 when he announced his retirement due to struggles with injury.
The announcement was made through a video on the Sharks' X account, with franchise legend Joe Thornton presenting Celebrini with a jersey with the lettering stitched on as he was surrounded by teammates and GM Mike Grier.
This news comes after the Sharks and Celebrini agreed to a five-year, $94-million extension ($18.8 million AAV) earlier this summer. That deal will kick in at the start of the 2027-28 season and will make him one of the highest-paid players in the league.
Since being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Celebrini has developed into one of the league's most dominant players. He set the Sharks' franchise record for points in a rookie season after putting up 25 goals and 63 points in 70 games, and followed it up by setting the team's single-season points record with 115 in his sophomore season.
The 20-year-old made history from a leadership perspective on the international stage earlier this year, becoming the youngest captain in Team Canada history when he wore the 'C' at the IIHF World Championships in Zurich.
Prior to his appearance at the world championships, Celebrini also suited up as the youngest member of Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. He finished second in tournament scoring behind only his teammate, Connor McDavid, with two goals and 13 points in just six games.
While Celebrini has yet to take home any piece of individual hardware at the NHL level, he was a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie and was a finalist for the Ted Lindsay award last season as one of the best players voted by his peers around the league.
Prior to entering the league, Celebrini became the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA's best men's hockey player. He scored 32 goals and finished with 64 points in just 38 games as a 17-year-old freshman at Boston University in the 2023-24 season.
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