Matthew Schaefer, the reigning Calder Trophy winner and New York Islanders franchise cornerstone, isn't concerned about his contract and has said this summer that he doesn't care about the money.
"I'll let my agent think about that," Schaefer explained to Dave McCarthy of NHL.com. "I don't need to think about that; I'm still a kid; I'm still a year away from any of that. I love Long Island.
We have something so special going on there. I don't care about the money. I just want to play the game of hockey, and that's what I love.
Of course, that was before Macklin Celebrini signed a five-year extension with the San Jose Sharks with a whopping average annual value of $18.8 million.
Celebrini said he wanted to take a discount too. He was eager to help the Sharks out. So, if what Schaefer said is almost word for word what Macklin Celebrini said right before signing the richest contract in NHL history, why should anyone think Schaefer isn’t about to break the bank?
Before Celebrini signed his $94 million extension this summer, he told ESPN's Greg Wyshynski that guys deserve to get paid, sure, but that building a winning team mattered just as much to him as maximizing every dollar.
Technically, $18.8 million a year, the highest AAV in league history, is a discount. Both Grier and Celebrini’s own agent said he could have pushed for even more. Had he, he would have gotten it.
In other words, saving the team some money by signing for a record-setting number wasn't a contradiction.
That's the pattern we should expect Schaefer's camp to follow almost exactly. Perhaps he leans a bit more toward the Connor Bedard negotiation style, prioritizing where he is, the people, the culture, and winning a Cup over taking the most he can. (Bedard took $15 million a season).
Schaefer is also unlikely to take a huge hometown discount. That combination of loyalty and leverage is precisely what let Celebrini land at the top of the market without ever sounding like he was chasing it.
The comparison matters because of where Schaefer sits in terms of his importance to the Islanders. He's a franchise defenseman entering what could become a $20 million-per-year trajectory if his game keeps trending the way it has. He could be the next player to surpass Celebrini's number, potentially as soon as next summer.
If that happens, the"I don't care about the money" quote won't necessarily feel true, but it will be read the same way Celebrini's deal was: sincere, and also completely acceptable.
None of this means Schaefer is bluffing. He might truly mean it when he says that money is not the driving force behind what his next deal will look like. Still, the Islanders, like the Sharks before them, have every incentive to make sure loyalty and market value aren't presented as a trade-off.
So will Schaefer stick to his word? Yes. Will he pull a Celebrini and take a deal worth a lot more than people might expect?
Probably also yes.