Carlsson's $18M Deal Slides to Second After Celebrini's Record Extension

Macklin Celebrini's five-year, $18.8 million AAV extension with San Jose, announced July 29, bumped Leo Carlsson out of the top spot on the NHL's salary chart. Carlsson, whom the Ducks locked in at $18 million AAV on July 9 after matching Philadelphia's offer sheet, now sits second on that list—a footnote that arrived less than three weeks after Anaheim made the biggest financial commitment in franchise history.

The Ducks matched that offer sheet knowing the market for young elite centers was only going to move in one direction, and Celebrini's deal confirms it. Carlsson posted 48 points in 49 games last season for a team that finished 43-39 and missed the playoffs, so the bet is squarely on trajectory: that the 21-year-old center is the foundation everything else gets built around. The roster around him is thinner than it was a year ago—Troy Terry is out recovering from hip surgery, Mason McTavish was traded to St. Louis, and the defensive depth behind Jackson LaCombe remains a visible gap.

None of that changes the math on the Carlsson commitment. Second-highest paid in the league is still second-highest paid in the league, and Anaheim is now carrying that number into a 2026-27 season with real roster questions still open.