{"id":637794,"date":"2026-08-06T02:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T02:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/637794\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T02:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T02:21:15","slug":"paul-bissonnette-calls-macklin-celebrini-sidney-crosby-2-0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/637794\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Bissonnette calls Macklin Celebrini ‘Sidney Crosby 2.0’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Bissonnette has said the San Jose Sharks<\/a> secured more than a franchise player when they signed Macklin Celebrini<\/a> to a record-setting extension. Speaking on the \u201cSpittin\u2019 Chiclets\u201d<\/a> podcast, the former NHL<\/a> forward compared the 20-year-old center to one of hockey\u2019s greatest players after his historic new deal.<\/p>\n

Celebrini signed a five-year, $94 million extension on July 29, carrying an NHL-record $18.8 million average annual value. The contract begins in 2027-28 after the final season of Celebrini\u2019s entry-level deal. It surpassed Leo Carlsson\u2019s $18 million AAV and Connor Bedard\u2019s $15 million extension signed earlier this summer.<\/p>\n

MORE: Patrice Bergeron recalls Sidney Crosby\u2019s jaw-dropping play with 2005 Team Canada<\/a><\/p>\n

Bissonnette said Carlsson\u2019s offer sheet helped establish the market but does not think money alone drove San Jose\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say, \u2018Thank you, Leo Carlsson offer sheet,\u2019 because that kind of set around where he was going to get,\u201d Bissonnette said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t really think it mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cSan Jose is one of those markets where it\u2019s like, \u2018OK, we need to keep a guy like this.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Macklin Celebrini\u2019s rise has changed San Jose\u2019s timeline<\/p>\n

\"NHL:San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) waits for play to resume against the St. Louis Blues in the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Bissonnette reserved his strongest praise for Celebrini\u2019s complete game, comparing him directly to Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe broke the all-time [franchise]record for most points in a season last year in his second year in the NHL. I mean, he\u2019s Sidney Crosby 2.0,\u201d Bissonnette said of Celebrini. \u201cHe\u2019s the perfect player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrini earned those comparisons after producing 115 points in 82 games, breaking Joe Thornton\u2019s franchise record. He finished fourth in NHL scoring and fourth in Hart Trophy voting while leading Canada in goals during its Olympic silver-medal run.<\/p>\n

Bissonnette continued, \u201cHe does his own dirty work. You see these clips where he\u2019s out there just busting his a\u2013 for a minute straight, stripping guys, getting in on the forecheck, backchecking, and then he can get it done offensively.\u201d<\/p>\n

The extension reflects San Jose\u2019s confidence in its rebuilding plan. General manager Mike Grier has added veterans, including Darnell Nurse, Jacob Trouba and Mason Marchment to support a young core featuring Will Smith, Michael Misa and Ivar Stenberg.<\/p>\n

MORE: Macklin Celebrini\u2019s massive NHL contract comes with big expectations<\/a><\/p>\n

If that group develops together, Celebrini\u2019s contract could become the foundation of the Sharks\u2019 return to Stanley Cup contention rather than simply a record-breaking payday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paul Bissonnette has said the San Jose Sharks secured more than a franchise player when they signed Macklin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637795,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5127],"tags":[5,501,4,1291,519,168,5306,5305,1780,768],"class_list":["post-637794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose-sharks","tag-hockey","tag-macklin-celebrini","tag-nhl","tag-paul-bissonnette","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-sanjose","tag-sanjosesharks","tag-sharks","tag-sidney-crosby"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/117046181108556158","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}