Who of the two biggest pending free agents should the Detroit Red Wings target?

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.

Out of his nine seasons in the NHL so far, he's been more than a point per game in seven of those seasons, and three of those seasons have been 90+ point season while also being a massive part of their penalty kill and powerplay. Even this season, he's on pace for a career-high 103 points, meaning if he does make it to free agency, he won't come cheap but would be worth every penny.

He would also allow the team not to have to rely on a 36-year-old Patrick Kane to make massive plays every night. He leaves a bit to be desired in the playoffs, but the whole Maple Leafs team struggles in the playoffs. So who knows, maybe a change of linemates, scenery, and far less media attention in Detroit would help him shake off his playoff demons.

Rantanen, on the other hand, is a big body goal-scorer and playmaker. He has been a big part of the Colorado Avalanche's top six and, in recent years, has been the third most important piece of their team.

In his ten seasons in the NHL, he's been over a point per game in seven of those seasons. Two of these seasons were 100-point seasons, all with the Avalanche. That was until he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes right before the Four Nations Face-Off. Things haven't exactly taken off in Carolina for Rantanen, and there have been a plethora of rumors that Carolina may be entertaining the idea of moving on from Rantanen if they can't come to a deal on a contract extension.

There's a fairly slim chance that Rantanen makes it to free agency. So, he would likely have to be acquired in a trade, and it wouldn't be a cheap trade. It took Carolina giving the Avalanche Martin Nečas, Jack Drury, and 2 picks and the Chicago Blackhawks retaining $4.6 million of Rantanen's contract to acquire him in the first place. However, he's a proven monster in the playoffs, which would be worth the cost of acquisition alone.

I would prefer the Red Wings to try to go after Marner. He's a proven superstar who's shown he can carry his own line. Rantanen hasn't quite proven that he's not just a Nathan MacKinnon merchant and that he can produce at the same rate on another team.

Regardless, both would likely rocket the Red Wings rebuild a few years into the future.