While the San Jose Sharks still have a full year before they're required to sign Macklin Celebrini to a new contract, the Chicago Blackhawks are currently negotiating with their own young superstar, Connor Bedard.

Bedard's contract will be the closest comparable for Celebrini, as it's not often a 20-year-old has the opportunity to become one of the highest paid players in the NHL. While Bedard isn't expected to surpass Kirill Kaprizov as the highest paid player overall, he could easily surpass Leon Draisaitl to become the second-highest paid player in the league according to early reports. 

According to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun Times, the Blackhawks haven't made much progress in talks with Bedard, but his cap hit will likely be in the range of $13-16 million per season. Whether or not he signs an eight-year deal remains up in the air as well, but this season will be the last time he has that opportunity, as eight-year contracts will soon be off the table league-wide. 

With that being said, Celebrini's cap hit can easily exceed whatever contract Bedard signs this summer. Despite playing one less season in the NHL, Celebrini has scored just five less goals in his career and trails Bedard by just 25 career points. Add in the fact that Celebrini was named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, and there's certainly an argument that the 20-year-old could get the richest contract in NHL history.

It'll be interesting to see how both Mike Grier and Celebrini handle their contract negotiations, as a deal could be reached as early as July 1, but it's possible that negotiations will continue until next summer. At the very least, Bedard's negotiations give us a look into what Celebrini's camp will likely be looking for when the time comes.