Remember what I said was hurting the Red Wings rebuild about a month ago? Yeah, lack of a star player. And I mean a star player. Not Lucas Raymond or Dylan Larkin, but someone capable of leading the team to the playoffs and then some.
It’s the opposite of what most teams would do since they’d have a player to build around, much like Connor Bedard in Chicago or Macklin Celebrini in San Jose. But for the Red Wings, that isn’t the case, since they would have more than a playoff-caliber lineup if they just acquired that star player.
And it’s why I’m advocating for a strategy that Steve Yzerman and Company must at least discuss. This strategy shouldn’t be the only one, even if I’d rank it highly on my list. Oh, and it may go against the Yzerplan, but at that point, is anyone going to miss it since it’s taken an eternity to just make this team relevant again?
Going all-in for a star player should be a seriously considered strategy
Of course, I’m thinking about Mitch Marner here. Who else, really? Marner’s going to ignite a bidding war if he doesn’t re-sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And images of Marner in the Red Wings top six mean they’re more than just playoff contenders - they’re battling it out for the top spot in the Atlantic, and perhaps more.
Lucas Raymond is the perfect sidekick, and Dylan Larkin, when he wants to be, is the vocal captain. Simon Edvinsson is an up-and-comer on the blue line, and Moritz Seider’s already one of the league’s edgiest players. Get Marco Kasper improved a little more, and you got a crop of players right there who Marner can lead and return the Wings to where they’re supposed to be.
Yeah, it goes against the Yzerplan, and it would mean some player movement, but come on. Look at the teams in the Conference Finals right now, and you’ll know where I’m going with this. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton, Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen in Dallas, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk are in Florida.
Only the Carolina Hurricanes don’t have at least a couple of superstars in their lineup, but it still shows us that, to make a deep playoff run, you’d ideally have two. That alone would entice me to go all-in on Mitch Marner.
Red Wings must explore a ‘do all it takes’ approach to land Marner
I won’t be so brash and say, “They just won the Stanley Cup,” should the Wings end up with Marner. That would be farfetched. But if the Wings landed Marner, you would see everyone in the NHL universe saying that the Red Wings, at worst, are a surefire top-three team in the Atlantic Division.
Plus, signing Marner (or trading for his signing rights) away from the Maple Leafs means they’d weaken a division rival. And in a division that may see a back-to-back-to-back conference champion, maybe going after Marner shouldn’t even warrant a fallback plan if Yzerman’s serious about returning this team to strong playoff contention. Just a thought.
