Insider: Will Smith Extension With Sharks Will Depend On Player On Rival Team

The San Jose Sharks got a huge piece of business done on Wednesday, signing superstar center Macklin Celebrini to that huge $18.8 million AAV deal. That nudges him ahead of the Anaheim Ducks' Leo Carlsson on the NHL's salary chart (though Celebrini's doesn't kick in until 2027-28. Carlsson will remain king for the coming year). 

The next huge extension the Sharks will have to worry about is 21-year-old Will Smith. He became eligible on July 1st as he gets set to enter the final year of his entry-level deal. And just like Celebrini's deal is being compared to Carlsson's, it appears that the Sharks & Ducks will once again be linked in a way when it comes to Smith. 

Insider David Pagnotta, when asked recently about a comp for Smith's next contract, pointed to Anaheim. 

Cutter Gauthier in Anaheim, I think his number is going to play a factor in what Will Smith ends up getting... Whatever that (Gauthier) number is going to be, and whatever that term is going to be, that contract, I believe, will affect how the Sharks proceed with Will Smith and how Will Smith and his camp proceed with the Sharks. So that’s something to keep tabs on... 

I can tell you with certainty that you know Will Smith is looking at Gauthier, going, ‘Your number is going to affect my number. So figure out a nice number so I can get one too.’

To be clear, Pagnotta is not suggesting that Smith will get whatever Gauthier's getting (Smith's 24 goals don't put him in the same stratosphere as Gauthier's 41 goals). He was referring to the fact that each of them are the No. 2 option to their respective star leading men. 

Whatever Cutter Gauthier gets will affect Will Smith's asking price

"I’m saying that if Smith’s the 1A to Celebreni and Gauthier is the 1A to Carlsson... So the number that he’ll get, Gauthier, will affect Smith. Won’t be the same, but it’ll affect it in terms of, you know, Smith’s looking for ‘X’ and Gauthier signs for ‘Y’. Then Smith’s number suddenly creeps up closer to the ‘Y’ than it would the ‘X’.” 

Keep in mind that the Sharks' current $7.5 million in cap space does not affect their negotiations with Smith, as his deal wouldn't kick in until the 2027-28 season (like Celebrini's). But it will affect Collin Graf's new deal, as he is an RFA without a contract for 2026-27 at this point. 

Sharks GM Mike Grier, however, has said that they've had talks with both Graf and Smith over the past month. He adds that negotiations for Graf's contract are "well advanced". But Smith is also a priority.

Grier on Will Smith:

"Continuing to have dialogue with (Smith and Collin Graf) and see where that goes. Smitty is definitely someone we'd like to lock up long-term as well. So we'll see how it goes. But definitely, it's part of the plan to hopefully get them locked up…

— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) July 29, 2026

"Smitty is definitely someone we'd like to lock up long-term as well. So we'll see how it goes," said Grier. "But if it doesn't happen (this offseason), then we'll be okay, and we'll figure out as the season goes on and into next summer."