While Macklin Celebrini’s five-year, $94MM extension set the new record for the highest cap hit in NHL history, it might not stay that way for too long. Newsday’s Andrew Gross suggests that Celebrini’s $18.8MM AAV should now be the benchmark for Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer to beat next summer. Knowing that the cap will be higher a year from now and a likely desire to keep pushing the ceiling of a contract upward, it stands to reason that Schaefer’s camp will try to push for a price tag at least nominally higher.
Gross wonders if a five-year, $95MM pact might be enough to get a quick extension done with the Calder Trophy winner when he becomes extension-eligible in July. Schaefer had 23 goals and 36 assists last season while logging nearly 25 minutes per game of ice time. More from the Metropolitan: There has been some speculation this summer that Hurricanes RFA defenseman Alexander Nikishin was seeking an $8MM per season payday on his next deal.
It seems that’s not the case. When RG’s Daria Tuboltseva asked the blueliner about it, Nikishin noted that he’s looking for more than that, though he didn’t specify the ask. He also didn’t indicate if he’s hoping to sign a long-term contract or a shorter one.
The 24-year-old had 11 goals and 22 assists in 81 games last season, his only NHL campaign thus far. That makes some of the recent contracts (Brandt Clarke, Simon Nemec, and Pavel Mintyukov, all of whom signed for five years at more than $7MM per season) inaccurate comparables given that they all had substantially more NHL action than Nikishin. Even so, he’s setting his sights high for his next contract.
Last season was a tough one for Devils defenseman Brett Pesce on the injury front. He relayed to Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News that he played through a finger injury for a good chunk of the season while the lower-body injury he sustained in early March was an MCL sprain. The end result was him missing more games than he played in.
Fortunately for him and New Jersey, the veteran indicated that he has fully recovered from both issues and has had a full summer of training thus far. Pesce has four years left on his contract at a $5.5MM AAV and is a key shutdown defender when he’s healthy.