It’s no secret that the Detroit Red Wings have needed a superstar player for a while now. While Lucas Raymond and Mo Seider are on their way to reaching those heights, they’re both still incredibly young and still need time to fully develop their skills. While the organization may be content to wait for them to fully develop and rely on the likes of Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, and Patrick Kane to fill in the talent gap until then, many of the Red Wings fan base and likely the Ilitch family themselves are starting to grow tired of waiting. Either way, it’s always in the organization’s best interest to get an established superstar.

With the trade deadline fast approaching and the Detroit Red Wings not only in the thick of the playoff race but also currently sitting in the second wild card (WC2) spot, there is a lot of talk about what they should do before or at the Trade Deadline.

While many fans believe that the Red Wings should remain mostly the same this season, two major names remain as pending unrestrited free agents (UFAs) in the league who may be available by the trade deadline. Those two names are Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen.

Both players are bonified superstars and in different ways, too. While Marner is more of a playmaking two-way winger, Rantanen is more of a goal-scoring sniper. Both are 95-100+ point players, something the Red Wings desperately need.

Which Superstar should the Detroit Red Wings try and grab?

Unfortunately, the Detroit Red Wings have several players in need of an extension. Young talents like Elmer Soderblom, Jonatan Berggren, and Albert Johansson are all on expiring deals and making incredible cases for remaining a Red Wings player in the future.

Not to mention, there’s the case of Patrick Kane. Depending on how he plays the rest of the season, Kane is another candidate for receiving another deal with the team. Getting both Marner and Rantanen is nothing but a pipe dream, but getting one of them is still very much on the table.

So who would be the best candidate to go after?

Marner has been a staple of the Toronto Maple Leafs for his entire NHL career, a majority of which he’s been a member of the Leafs’ so-called “core four” group of the team’s most elite players. Since he was drafted, he has had the word “superstar” written all over him.