NHL Rumours: Celebrini Discount, Marchessault Trade & Laine Destinations

In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we start off with Macklin Celebrini, who has stated that he may consider taking a discount on his next deal with the San Jose Sharks. Next, Jonathan Marchessault has reappeared in trade rumours, but the Nashville Predators may not look to move him now.

Finally, Patrik Laine remains on the free agent market, and there have been a few teams who have looked at bringing him in.

Celebrini Considering Discount on Next Contract

After posting a historic 115-point season as a 19-year-old, Celebrini entered the offseason with the ability to sign an extension. While there doesn’t appear to be any rush on getting it done right away, Pat Verbeek and Daniel Briere just gave a perfect reason why you should lock up young players as soon as possible.

Everything points to a deal getting done, Celebrini and the team are both publicly very happy with each other, and he will likely be given a blank cheque to sign.

In a story from ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, Celebrini revealed that he had considered the idea of taking less on his next deal with inspiration from Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby, who have both been underpaid for the majority of their careers.

Celebrini added, “…you want to put your team in the best spot possible where you give a team the ability to make moves necessary to win.”

After seeing Kirill Kaprizov, Leo Carlsson, Bowen Byram, and some other major extensions over the past year, Celebrini could have every right to be the highest-paid player in the NHL, but it will be entirely up to him.

Jonathan Marchessault Trade Rumours Continue

While the last two seasons haven’t gone nearly as well as the Predators have hoped, the same can be said for Marchessault. After coming off a Conn Smythe-winning run to the Stanley Cup in 2023, he joined the Predators in the 2024 offseason, and his time there hasn’t been stellar.

With just 87 points over the last two seasons, these have been the least productive back-to-back years since his first two full NHL campaigns.

Alex Daugherty wrote that the Predators are likely to continue to search the market for a Marchessault trade that makes sense, while Jimmy Murphy reported that the Predators are actively trying to trade him.

At 35 years old, making $5.5 million against the cap for three more seasons, he may be hard to move considering his downward trajectory, but he could be a very valuable piece for the Predators, if he is to stay.

One of the biggest problems with the club was their lack of depth. With a newly constructed bottom-six that looks much better on paper, does Marchessault fit back into their plans as a middle-six scorer?

Laine Remains Free Agent, Multiple Teams Showed Interest

As we head into late July, there are still a number of interesting names available, and Laine is no exception.

After playing just five games last season due to injury and being a healthy scratch after the Olympics and for the playoffs, his price tag has certainly come down, and he is likely to receive a low-salary deal with a bonus structure to allow for more money to be made.

Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that the Minnesota Wild looked at Laine as a target, and while he is still available, they have filled their voids with Maxim Shabanov and Blake Coleman instead. (from Five burning questions for the Wild: What we’re hearing on Quinn Hughes, Dylan Larkin, The Athletic, July 14, 2026)

Vincent Mercogliano stated that Laine could be an intriguing target for the New York Rangers, too. He added, “He’ll likely have to settle for a one-year, prove-it contract, which is right in New York’s wheelhouse, but Drury’s interest is unclear.” (from The New York Rangers are hunting for another NHL forward. What are their options?, The Athletic, July 15, 2026)

The Rangers have added scoring with Pavel Dorofeyev, but if they feel like they need more, Laine could be a low-risk option to play in a limited role with offensive ice time.