On Wednesday, the San Jose Sharks announced their five-year, $18.8 million contract extension with superstar forward Macklin Celebrini. San Jose selected Celebrini with the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and he's already one of the best players in the NHL. 

This came just under two weeks after Connor Brdard, who went number one overall a year before Celebrini, signed his extension. Bedard's, like Celebrini's, is a five-year deal, but it's only carrying a cap hit of $15 million. Bedard was already a restricted free agent, so his deal kicks in right now, while Celebrini's won't go into effect until the 2027-28 season. 

Celebrini has had a better start to his NHL career than Bedard. On top of already being a much better defensive forward, his points per game (70 goals and 108 assists for 178 points in 152 games) top Bedard's (75 goals and 128 assists for 203 points). 

This past season, however, Bedard had a breakout season. It wasn't at the level he thought it would be because of an injury that sidelined him for a month in December and January. At the time of the bad break, Bedard was right there with Celebrini in the top five of league scoring. While Bedard was out, Celebrini pulled away. 

It was still a 30-goal point-per-game season for Bedard, but it was not close to the masterclass year that Celebrini had for the Sharks. 

With all of that in mind, is Celebrini worth $3.8 million more than Bedard in this market? Both of their deals made them top-five players in the NHL in terms of average annual value, but Bedard makes a lot less. 

Celebrini's AAV will account for 16.5% of San Jose's salary cap. Meanwhile, Bedard's is 14.4% of the Hawks' cap. For a variety of reasons, this is great business for the Blackhawks.

Neither guy would be making this much if the Philadelphia Flyers never tendered an offer sheet to Anaheim Duck forward Leo Carlsson, who went 2nd in Bedard's draft, for $18 million, but it did and each franchise responded accordingly. 

Having an extra $3.8 million to work with when roster building is big for Kyle Davidson and his staff. If Bedard continues to develop his game and reaches Celebrini's level permanently (staying healthy will play a big role in that), the Blackhawks will be very thankful he took this deal. 

Within the next handful of years, as the salary cap grows, both guys will be "underpaid", but Bedard showed incredible commitment to the Chicago Blackhawks and made sure there is enough to build a winning roster by avoiding any offer sheets and getting this contract done promptly. 

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