{"id":257668,"date":"2026-08-14T00:13:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T00:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/14\/nhl-analyst-weighs-in-on-greatest-hockey-player-debate-with-hot-take-macklin-is-next\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T00:13:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T00:13:50","slug":"nhl-analyst-weighs-in-on-greatest-hockey-player-debate-with-hot-take-macklin-is-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/14\/nhl-analyst-weighs-in-on-greatest-hockey-player-debate-with-hot-take-macklin-is-next\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL analyst weighs in on &#8216;greatest hockey player debate&#8217; with hot take &#8211; &#8220;Macklin is next&#8221;\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"5204334\" data-slug-id=\"2822129\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Macklin Celebrini has only completed two NHL seasons, but NHL analyst Eric Engels already believes the San Jose Sharks star could eventually become the game&#8217;s greatest player. For now, Engels has Connor McDavid at the top of his list for the current era.<\/p>\n<p>He shared his take on X while weighing in on the latest debate over hockey&#8217;s greatest player.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe greatest hockey player ever debate is raging in August. My unsolicited opinion is it\u2019s just evolution, baby. McDavid is the greatest ever, even if he\u2019ll never touch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/wayne-gretzky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Gretzky<\/a>\u2019s records. Crosby was the greatest before him. And Mario, and Gretzky, and Lafleur, and Orr, and Beliveau, and Richard, and Morenz\u2026. Macklin is next.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>Gretzky&#8217;s numbers are still difficult to comprehend. The Hockey Hall of Famer finished his career with 894 goals, 1,963 assists and 2,857 points in 1,487 games. He remains the NHL&#8217;s all-time leader in both assists and points.<\/p>\n<p>McDavid has built his own case during his time in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/edmonton-oilers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Edmonton<\/a>. The Oilers captain led the NHL in 2025-26 with 138 points in 82 games, scoring 48 goals and adding 90 assists.<\/p>\n<p>The season took McDavid to 1,220 points in 794 regular-season games, keeping him among the most productive scorers the league has seen. Celebrini is obviously much earlier in his career, but his second season gives Engels&#8217; prediction something to point toward.<\/p>\n<p>The San Jose Sharks forward went from 63 points in 70 games as a rookie to 115 points in 82 games in 2025-26. He scored 45 goals and added 70 assists, setting a new single-season scoring record for the Sharks while finishing fourth in the NHL scoring race.<\/p>\n<p>Celebrini now has 178 points in 152 NHL games through his first two seasons. His sophomore campaign also earned him a spot among the finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award, alongside McDavid and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/nikita-kucherov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Nikita Kucherov<\/a>. The award is voted on by NHL players.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>Macklin Celebrini&#8217;s new deal reflects his rapid rise in San Jose<\/h2>\n<p>Macklin Celebrini has only played two NHL seasons, but the San Jose Sharks have already made a major commitment to their young star.<\/p>\n<p>Macklin Celebrini signed a five-year, $94 million extension with San Jose, giving him an $18.8 million average annual value. The deal keeps the 19-year-old under contract through the 2030-31 season.<\/p>\n<p>Celebrini thanked the Sharks for the support he has received since joining the organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn&#8217;t be happier to sign an extension today. The faith and support that Mr. Plattner, Mike Grier and the entire staff have shown me throughout the past two seasons is proof that we are building something special here. My teammates and I are ready to take another step toward the ultimate goal of bringing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/stanley-cup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Stanley Cup<\/a> to this city and its incredible fans. I can&#8217;t wait to get going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The new contract comes after Celebrini&#8217;s second NHL season, when he finished with 45 goals, 70 assists and 115 points in 82 games. He was also responsible for 46.2% of San Jose&#8217;s goals, the highest share ever recorded by a Sharks player and an NHL teenager.<\/p>\n<p>Macklin Celebrini had 63 points in 70 games as a rookie. He followed that up by becoming one of the league&#8217;s highest-scoring players in his second season.<\/p>\n<p>Now, San Jose has locked up its young star after just two years in the NHL, with Celebrini set to remain with the Sharks through the 2030-31 season.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\" title=\"like article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\" title=\"dislike article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Sonali Verma<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/us\/nhl\/news-nhl-analyst-weighs-greatest-hockey-player-debate-hot-take-macklin-next\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Macklin Celebrini has only completed two NHL seasons, but NHL analyst Eric Engels already believes the San Jose Sharks star could eventually become the game&#8217;s greatest player. For now, Engels has Connor McDavid at the top of his list for the current era. He shared his take on X while weighing in on the latest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":257669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6806],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-257668","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gossip"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}