reading pat’s interviews about mack’s contract are so interesting because when asked how much of a say rick had, pat danced around the answer and just said how great rick and robyn are to deal with and how they really understand this industry, and then pat also went on to say how they were looking at shorter term contracts to maximize profit and set mack up for life, but mack insisted on five years and to sign ahead of time so contract conversations wouldn’t distract from the season and to give grier room to work with and plan in advance, and how they almost had to talk mack into taking a higher aav because mack made it clear he didn’t want the max, even though everyone knows he could’ve asked for it (and deserved it)
Macklin Celebrini's agent describes ‘special' contract negotiations with Sharks
By Sheng Peng | July 31, 2026
It was a special meeting for a special player.
Pat Brisson, Macklin Celebrini’s agent, asked for an early-to-mid-June meeting with San Jose Sharks owner Hasso Plattner and GM Mike Grier to discuss his “unicorn” client’s upcoming extension.
“[This meeting] meant a lot to us; it was part of the negotiations, making sure we do things right,” Brisson told San Jose Hockey Now in an exclusive interview on Thursday, on the heels of Celebrini signing a record-setting five-year, $94 million extension.
That $18.8 million AAV is the highest in NHL history.
It’s new territory for the league, but not for the super-agent and CAA, who represents Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Patrick Kane, and more, a literal who’s who of hockey over the last three decades.
Brisson shares why the $18.8 million AAV could’ve justifiably been higher, and why Celebrini didn’t want that. The superstar center also wanted to give the Sharks more term than he had to.
Brisson took us behind the scenes of the June meeting, his respect for Plattner, when he first met Celebrini, and the circumstances behind Crosby’s famous $8.7 million AAV.
Sheng Peng: Can you tell us about meeting Plattner and Grier before July 1?
Pat Brisson: I made a special request with a special player like this. I call him a unicorn player. To really go in and meet with ownership and understanding what we're getting into.
When Sidney [got his second contract] in Pittsburgh, I had the [same] ability, with my friendship with Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle. I mean, when you're talking about generational players, we got to do our due diligence, make sure that we have a face-to-face [with ownership] and understand the bigger picture.
I [had] met Mr. Plattner when he came to the interview period, to Los Angeles to meet us with John Tavares, when he was a free agent.
He was a wonderful man. He had an amazing presentation. You could tell that he's a passionate man. And I was very impressed with him.
When I made the request to meet him about Macklin through Mike, he accepted. I flew up to San Jose, met with him and Mike, and we had some great conversations about the state of the team and the present, the future, and the goals. It was important for us, before making a commitment, that we understand some of these things.
We know our [place]. We know our seat. Mike and his team, they're the architects; they're the ones putting the team together. We understood where the Sharks have been in the last couple of years. You have to be patient in these things.
Right now, I don't want to speak for the Sharks; it's pretty clear that they don't want to be a lottery pick team anymore. They want to move on and get going here. So we trust the process.
We wanted to make sure that we were able to have a face-to-face about understanding certain things, in case [of things] we don't know. Sometimes you get into a situation, and two months later the team is sold, for instance.
Mike does what he needs to do with the team as far as getting the appropriate pieces. For us, it's about progressing.
A player like Macklin, who's investing so much time into his craft and becoming the best version of himself, being that special of a player, it's important for us to put the right emphasis around him to make sure that we provide him with the best guidance possible, and then we rest assured that ownership is on the same page as us. We create some form of partnership.
SP: Not every owner would meet with you like Hasso did, right?
PB: Yeah.
Investing money is important, but investing the right resources and the passion, I have a lot of respect for him sitting down and talking to us. He's a passionate man. I saw that when he came down here to meet Tavares.
[This meeting] meant a lot to us; it was part of the negotiations, making sure we do things right. And fortunately, I've learned over the years to do things this way. The luxury to be able to have an opportunity to represent some, if not the best players in history, working with them and watching them grow, we appreciate the way Hasso handled everything.
SP: What was the meeting about?
PB: It was more about we're in this thing to win. Hasso really wants to win a championship, at all costs. Is not afraid to spend dollars where it matters. He wants to win, and his actions speak for itself.
He's willing to spend and to bring everything and all the resources possible in order for this franchise to become a winning franchise. I felt very positive after the meeting with him and in trusting Mike that they have the right intentions and the right plan.
SP: Let’s talk about the actual contract. It landed at five years, like Connor Bedard and Leo Carlsson’s contracts. Is five years kind of the new “long-term,” in terms of a good marriage between short enough so the player can see where the cap is in a few years, but long enough to give the team a chance to show the player that they’re going to be winners?
PB: As an agency, when the cap was installed in 2004-05, we were the first agency to really [have] out of entry-level players that have tremendous leverage, like Crosby. We did a five-year deal. Crosby took close to 17 percent of the cap.
We did five years for him. We did five years for Malkin. We did five years for Kane and Toews. That was our approach. We've always stayed very close to it.
Now we did six or seven years with other [top] entry-level players.
But let's put it this way: Crosby, Kane, Toews, they were in a different class at the time. And we try to mirror those five years in order to, the goal is always to, A, put the player in a financial situation where they're set for life.
And B, it gives the player the ability to re-evaluate after five years, six years. I do remember when even Crosby signed five years back in the in the day in 2007, the Penguins, at the time, wanted to sign a 12-year deal, a 10-year deal, but we stayed the course.
Bedard and Carlsson's contracts had nothing to do with this one. Part of my meeting [with the Sharks], and I made it clear publicly, that we came in with no comps. With all due respect to Carlsson's offer sheet or [Bedard’s] contract, we had already decided pretty much where we wanted to be.
The question was more to determine whether we do three or four or five years, and then Macklin wanted it right at five years to give Mike an opportunity to, give him a good runway to see what he could do.
But for us, he came in with the Crosby-McDavid type of leverage as a 19-year-old kid. He had [basically] no comp. The offer sheet had nothing to do with our approach.
SP: So a five-year length and signing now was driven by Macklin?
PB: It was Mack.
If we had gone next summer to the Sharks and said we wanted three years at 20, would have been 60 million for three years; he would have been set for life. But Macklin wanted to give Mike [an extension] a year out, the opportunity to [give him] time to plan. Rather than having to wait. So it was driven by Macklin.
We want to put our players in a position to succeed, and we want them to be happy with the decision. With our experience, we're able to discuss the do's and the don'ts that we've seen in the past.
But Macklin understands and registers really quick what makes sense, and he was able to drive this: "Pat, five years is what I want. I can help the team here. I want to be part of this plan. And I want to give Mike a five-to-six year runway here.”
It was driven by him.
SP: You mention Crosby and McDavid; Celebrini’s AAV landed at 16.6 percent of the cap; Crosby and McDavid were also in that range. Were those comps in some ways?
PB: The other thing too, back then we didn't know; we didn't have the luxury to know where the cap was going. We used to find out on June 30th [right before the new cap season]. Now we know that we were negotiating this deal at $113.5 million [for 2027-28].
We could have asked for 19.5. It would have been fine. That would have made sense.
He wanted to be at 18.8, and we left it at that.
You're going to see players in the next three years making 20, 22, 23 million. It's all percentages of the cap space. The business is growing, so we see large numbers now, but the revenues are there.
SP: Grier did say he would’ve given Macklin the maximum $20.8 million if your camp had insisted.
PB: He might have debated us a little bit. It's not like he handed over that quick either. He made his pitch. Also, as a general manager, he was doing his job.
It's not like he gave us a blank check either. He explained his position.
SP: The cap has grown at about a nine percent increase in recent years, how does your agency project it?
PB: We're looking at the cap being at $113.5 [in 2027-28], and then we did a 4-5 percent growth per year projection.
It might be four percent one year, six percent the other. But we don't see why would we be off by a lot there unless there's another pandemic or something like that.
I’m being cautious [with my growth projection]. I think at the end of this deal, Macklin is going to be at a 12 percent of the cap.
SP: You also signed Crosby’s first post-ELC contract, five years at $8.7 million AAV in 2007. What similarities and differences between Sid and Mack’s negotiations?
PB: The similarities are the leverage that both have.
The difference is we know where the cap is going. 2007, we're two years [into] the new cap. We had no clue where we were going. We were facing a lot of uncertainty.
In 2012, the players went from 57 percent of the revenues to 50 percent. We had another setback there. And then, we had the COVID setback. Remember, at that time, a lot of guys were doing eight-year deals because of the uncertainties; there were a lot of seven- and eight-year deals, that was like the thing to do. But now that we know where the revenues are, and the world is going.
So 19.5 to 20 [for Macklin], it would have been fine too, completely fine.
SP: But again, Macklin didn’t want to go to 19.5 to 20? He wanted 18.8.
PB: He didn't push for that. That's what he wanted to do.
SP: The signing bonus-heavy aspect of the contract is interesting; that’s meant to be lockout and buyout-proof, right? And Macklin also has an NMC in the final year of the deal. Those elements of the contract seem very in favor of the player, right? If the Sharks were to trade Celebrini in the final year of this deal, so he has control of his destination?
PB: When you have a player like him, you gotta maximize the structure under the CBA rules. I mean, why not? You have to. You're not doing your job otherwise.
Macklin doesn't really need a no-trade in the last year of his contract. I don't think he's ever gonna get traded, but you need to have it. It's permissible under the CBA.
And as of September 16, 2026, no teams will be able to grant signing bonuses to a player more than 60 percent of the contract. So we maximized it, based on the player that he is. He deserved the right [with his leverage].
SP: So Crosby has been at $8.7 million AAV for his last three contracts, 19 years in total. What’s the origin of that?
PB: For me, I always want to do what's right for the players. I tell my players, I wear a medal around my neck, when you guys are happy. So when the players are happy is when I deliver the amount of resources that I could around my player and give them the information, and at the end of the day, for them to be compensated fairly.
But with Sidney, what people don't understand, or don't know, the second contract, the one that he did the 12-year deal at 8.7; he was 26 years old, 25 going on 26. It was a time where we could do 12-year deals or 14-year deals. And we looked at it where Sidney, the way he plays the game, he was very physical. As you know, he was concussed. He was concussed the year before. He missed a full year almost, and he came back. He came back and he played 20 games.
His next contract was not insurable, so in other words, he had to have an exclusion to his head, the insurance companies are not lined up to insure that contract.
We were talking about a five-year deal, probably 11 million a year. And then we pushed. He's 26. Doing five years, gonna be 31.
And then we said, why don't we do eight years? We had agreed to do nine years at 11 a year. [So] nine years, he was going to be 35, and we said, are you going to play past 35 years old, the way you play the game? And Sidney was like, "I'm going to do my best, but there might be a time when I might not be able to."
Because Sidney's a physical player. He grinds it every night, and he had that concussion. So we decided to add three years to the deal and lower the AAV. Then we start playing with the numbers; we're at 9.1, 9.2, and then 8.7 came about again, and we end up doing 8.7 times 12.
But that deal was front-loaded. Sidney made 12 million the first five years, six years. At the end, he was making 3 million a year.
But if we had a crystal ball? We didn't know he was going to play [that long]. People forgot he missed a full year, and he signed a 12-year deal.
We thought he might play six months or might play three years or most likely, this guy's not playing after 35 years old.
He would have been gone through LTIR the last three years, last four years of his career.
His goal was to play, but we looked at the data, the possibilities, and internally, the odds were that he wasn't going to play past 34 years old.
So when we signed that deal, the ownership group took the entire risk.
So people say he left money on the table, by virtue of that. Now the last negotiation, two years at 8.7, he didn't care much. He kept it that way. His next deal, he may do an extension next summer. He may sign a one-year deal for $12 [million]. I don't know.
I want to clarify that he did and he didn't [with the 8.7]. We came close to a five-year deal for $60 million at the time.
SP: You would never tell a client to take the same AAV for their entire career.
PB: No, no, no. (laughs) Especially that contract at 8.7 for 12 years. That's easy to explain if you really look at it, [trying to protect him].
SP: So how long have you known Macklin? Is it personally rewarding, someone you’ve known since he was a teenager, to help set him up for life?
PB: It does feel good.
We've been very privileged over my career and our career now. We've been doing this now for 35, 36 years. We've been also very privileged of having had the opportunity of representing 10 first-overall picks in the past 20 years, and it started with Sidney Crosby in 2005, and then Erik Johnson, Patrick Kane, from Nathan MacKinnon to Jack Hughes to Owen Power.
I first met Mack when he was 14, I do believe.
Byron Ritchie, who was a client of mine when he played, Byron was a very good player. Byron played in the minors, in the NHL. He played in Sweden. He played in so many different leagues and became a player development member of our team here about 10 years ago or so.
His son Ryder is a 2006, played with Macklin. Byron, having an amazing eye for talent and being a great coach, he identified [Celebrini] as a potential CAA client.
We got introduced when he was 14, and then he went to play at Shattuck St. Mary's. Both of my sons played at Shattuck. It's a great school. It's a great program. That's why I put Crosby and Jonathan Toews there back in the days.
So he played there, and he played with my youngest son Jordan for one year on the prep team. We put him in Chicago the following year, USHL. Then after that, played at BU, and then from there went to the NHL. So it's been an amazing journey working with him.
Also, the experience that we've had with some of these special, special players over the years. I'm mentioning to you all these first-overall picks, including John Tavares and all that of the world. You get to a point where you see a 14-year-old; for us, we have to have the ability to be able to see that player at 20, 21 years old, [how] he's going to improve.
With [Macklin], it's been an amazing journey, and it was very rewarding yesterday to see him signing a lucrative contract that he completely earned and deserves. And at $94 million dollars, he should be set for life.
SP: Did Macklin’s family, his parents Rick and Robyn, have much say in these negotiations?
PB: He's got a lovely family and a very supportive family and an athletic family; they live and breathe sports. And Rick and Robyn have a lot of experience in the sports world. They're fantastic to deal with.
Dealing with Rick and with Macklin for the most part, you're talking to people who understand sports, who understand the highs and the lows, and the value of an asset. It's very refreshing to deal with both Macklin and Rick.
They get it. Very much so.
SP: Just looking back, was there a moment for you that you knew that Celebrini just had “it”?
PB: There are not too many players that I can compare to Sidney Crosby at 15 years old in my career, and he's one player that when I started observing him on and off the ice more and more, he resembled a lot of Sidney. He had the same traits: a skilled player [who was] dominating, but he also wanted to do all the little things right defensively. He had the team approach, leadership approach. He understood at a young age that this isn't tennis; it's a team sport.
He respected the third- and fourth-line players as much as the first-line players. He understood quickly leadership qualities. You see in his work ethic, this kid is separating himself from the group, you could tell.
He found consistency, also. A really good prospect at 14, that doesn't mean the prospect will be great at 20. And he continues to get better and better and work on his habits. Consistency has been key, and it's been remarkable to watch.
funny enough i think Mack's agent started following Will recently. I think he was already following Will's agent before. Comparing notes when negotiating maybe
wait is this true pat brisson following will? evil things happening on instagram….
anyway i hope its true and will gets everything he ever wanted frontloaded $12m aav and an against regulations nmc but also its taken out of the VGKs cap space instead of ours and only $271 is recorded in the sharks books
Robert Dvorchak | Pittsburgh Post Gazette | August 21, 2006
His hockey sticks and equipment are borrowed, and southern California is a long way geographically and culturally from Magnitogorsk, but the big kid in the No. 77 green practice jersey looks and feels right at home on the ice.
"I feel happy I have a chance to skate right now. It will definitely help me get adjusted and be prepared for the season," Evgeni Malkin said through an interpreter after a morning skate yesterday at the Los Angeles Kings' suburban practice rink.
Some legal issues and technicalities still confront Malkin in his long journey to join the Penguins as the most highly touted talent entering the NHL this season. But if hockey fans in Pittsburgh are concerned that Malkin's mind might be wandering a bit because of the bewildering events of the past two weeks, he remains centered on what brought him to America.
"It definitely was not an easy period to go through. But I'm doing my best to stay focused on my goal, stay focused on practice. I'm sure I'll be ready for the season," Malkin said.
That goal is what made him skip out on a one-year contract he had just signed two weeks ago with his hometown team in the Russian Super League, to leave his parents behind for the time being to journey to a country in which he knows little about the language and customs.
"I wanted to live in America. I want to play in the NHL. This is my dream," Malkin said. "My only motive was to play in the NHL. I was open about my desire to come here and play."
A common first impression about Malkin, chosen second overall behind Alexander Ovechkin in the 2004 entry draft, is his size. He's 6 feet 4, 205 pounds with room to fill out, and he stands out even if he's just lingering on the boards.
Skating with a dozen or so NHL players getting ready for their team's training camps, Malkin was easy to follow during the rink-long rushes and informal scrimmage. Granted, the impromptu workout wasn't done at NHL speed or with NHL checking, but Malkin flashed enough skills to impress some professional players.
"To see someone with that size with the hockey sense and the soft hands and some of the passes he makes, he obviously has a lot of skill," Anaheim defenseman Sean O'Donnell said.
"At his age, with his size and the talent he's got, I can't see why he wouldn't be a heck of a player for many years in the league. He moves well, has good hands, has good puck sense. You don't need anything else to play in the league. He's obviously going to be a great player, and we'll see how things turn out."
While several Russian players did what Malkin did to leave the homeland behind for the stardom and financial rewards of the NHL, North American players marvel at how Malkin left his team under a veil of secrecy and was stashed away in a Helsinki apartment until he obtained a visa to enter the United States last week.
"He's gone through a lot," O'Donnell said. "Most people don't have to have a gut-check or a character-check like he's had at a young age."
But every player can relate to having the rink serve as an escape from the outside world.
"You get on the ice, and it's your own kind of meditation place," O'Donnell said. "Once you're on the ice, it doesn't matter what's going on with your family or whatever. You're there to focus. Right now, it seems like it's where he's the happiest."
Kip Brennan, a winger with the Dallas Stars, hung out with Malkin and some other players over the weekend and participated in yesterday's practice.
"There's definitely a language barrier," Brennan said. "It's got to be tough for him. It's a long way from home. But you grow up fast when you play hockey. He's going to get along just fine. He's coming in with a great attitude and he's working hard. He's a great skater. He's got great hands. He sees the ice really well."
The plan for Malkin and his handler, agent Pat Brisson of CAA Hockey in Santa Monica, Calif., is to spend the rest of this week working out in California before heading to Pittsburgh early next week. By that time, his two-week notice of his desire to leave his Russian club will have passed. Russian law allows an employee, even an athlete under contract, to leave his job by giving written notice.
"We're taking it one step at a time," Brisson said. "There are still some things that need to be worked out. But we'll be there."
The issue of a contract with the Penguins will hardly be a stumbling block. Under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement, the maximum entry level salary is $984,200, but incentives are negotiable. Malkin will likely sign a three-year deal that provides an additional $2.8 million in bonuses for such things as games played, finishing in the top 10 in goals and assists and winning a major award such as the Calder Trophy for the league's top rookie.
Malkin's limited knowledge of Pittsburgh comes from Sergei Gonchar, a Penguins defenseman who was his teammate on the Russian Olympic team last winter. But he certainly knows about fellow center Sidney Crosby and the legacy of Mario Lemieux.
"He told me there are a lot of young players, and that Pittsburgh is a friendly place," Malkin said.
He's also adjusting rapidly to his first week of freedom. He spent a day at the beach Sunday and has done some sight-seeing in L.A., which prompted an easy laugh, a sure sign that he's becoming more comfortable.
"The city is so unusually beautiful. It's amazing. Sometimes I don't feel like playing hockey," he said, chuckling.
Plenty of Southern California sunshine was beaming through one window at the Toyota Sports Center yesterday as Malkin and a new batch of friends went through their drills.
Among the NHL players participating were Glen Murray of the Bruins, Brad North and Mathieu Schneider of the Red Wings, Chris Drury of the Sabres and Sean Avery of the Kings.
One person impressed by Malkin was 16-year-old goalie Todd Matthews, who minded one of the nets and saw a lot of practice pucks.
"He can do what he wants with the puck," Matthews said. "It's not about how hard he shoots. He can control it."
Barring any legal entanglements, the same thing can be said about Malkin's future now. He controls it.
i just know pat brisson's assistants didn’t get more than two hours of sleep per night trying to fix the usa hockey mess via connor storrie's snl monologue
oh well, at least hilary knight and megan keller looked hot and got to hold their frequent olympic medaling over the men's team's heads
The five of them, agile as monkeys,
climb the red maple in my neighbor's yard.
I'm watching from my kitchen window,
fearful of seeing one of them fall,
wondering if I should tell them to get down,
but not wanting to be known as the old woman
who yells at the neighborhood kids.
And besides, I can feel their sneakers on my feet,
can feel my heart beating through their tee shirts,
can feel my thigh muscles tensing,
ready to make that almost impossible leap
onto the roof of the garage next door.
by Pat Brisson
Team USA won’t play its first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off until Thursday night, but it’s already suffered a big blow with Quinn Hughes bowing out due to a reported oblique injury.
Hughes, the defending Norris Trophy winner and one of the front-runners again this season, agonized over his decision on whether to once again wear red, white and blue for his first best-on-best tournament with his younger brother, Jack.
But the Vancouver Canucks captain, who looked to be in discomfort during a skate Saturday morning as he tried to test the injury that has kept him out of four games, ultimately decided it would be most appropriate to rest and heal during the 4 Nations break so he can get healthy for the Canucks’ stretch drive. With the Calgary Flames starting to fade and the Canucks 6-1-1 in their past eight, the Canucks are now three points up on the Flames for the final wild-card spot.
“I’d say it was probably the hardest decision that Quinn’s ever had to make,” Hughes’ agent, Pat Brisson, told The Athletic. “He was looking forward to representing his country along with his brother, Jack. But at the same time, he’s been carrying an injury that could continue to linger and perhaps make it worse while he also hasn’t played in a few weeks. He did everything he could in his recovery to be ready.
“The decision not to play the tournament was finally made (Sunday) after a long marathon of conversations. He was completely devastated.”
This is obviously a huge blow for the U.S. as Hughes would have been its No. 1 defenseman and likely quarterbacked the No. 1 power play. Hughes, 25, is second amongst NHL defensemen with 59 points and 22 power-play points. He leads the Canucks in scoring by 24 points.
Devils star Jack Hughes was obviously disappointed but said, “It’s hockey at the end of day. People get injured all the time, and I was looking forward to spending time with him, but it’s all good, and hopefully he heals up and is ready to go for a big second half with Vancouver.
“He wants to be a part of this. He was really excited to come with this group and put the USA jersey back on. So it’s frustrating. But if you’re injured, you’re injured.”
Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson, a 2022 Olympian who came awfully close to making the initial roster in December before the United States brass chose Noah Hanifin, replaced Quinn Hughes on the roster. He stuck around Florida, where the Sens last played, and waited well into Sunday until finally being given the word that Hughes was officially out. Sanderson, asked Saturday by GM Bill Guerin to be on call just in case, canceled a tropical vacation and flew to Montreal.
Brady Tkachuk, Sanderson’s teammate with the Sens, called him “one of the best defensemen in the league” and said it was a well-deserved honor. Sanderson looks like he’ll start the 4 Nations as the United States’ seventh defenseman, with anticipated seventh defenseman Noah Hanifin elevated to the third pair with Brock Faber.
“Quinn’s such a special player,” Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “It’s really unfortunate that he was unable to go. And I know he’s at home and he wanted to be here. It’s hard on him, but he’s looking after his body, and he’s just unable to go. So it’s just an unfortunate situation, and you’re going to look at guys like Zach Werenski to step up. But we’re going to miss (Hughes’) offensive abilities and how he moves the puck.”
Hughes has medaled in four international tournaments. He won silver in the 2019 World Junior Championship, bronze in the 2018 World Junior Championship and World Championship and gold in the 2017 World Under-18 Championship.
Jack said when the decision was finally made, Quinn texted him, “Sorry. I was so pumped,” and Jack texted him back, “We’re both gonna play a long time.”
The good news is the NHL is committed to the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics, and the hope is there will be World Cups into the future starting in 2028. Jack Hughes recalled that last year, the Hughes bros also couldn’t play together during All-Star weekend because he was hurt.
“At some point, we’ll play a … maybe the third year,” Hughes said. “Last year was All-Star Game. Didn’t happen. This year, this. So hopefully Olympics next year we’ll get it done.”
