Yes, the Red Wings Should Try to Sign Mitch Marner
I want to make this very clear: this is an unhinged rant. I am not trying to be reasonable in this article. I’ve hit my limits with being able to take a large portion of the Red Wings fanbase seriously. I’m letting them have it in this article.
There have been a lot of Red Wings fans, including some rather large accounts, on Twitter saying that Steve Yzerman shouldn’t try to sign Mitch Marner. What is their reasoning? Because he sucks in the playoffs. No, seriously. That’s why the Red Wings shouldn’t sign Mitch Marner, apparently. Out of all the terrible arguments I have seen from Red Wings fans over the last few years, this may be the most mind-bogglingly terrible one yet. No, seriously, what is wrong with you? Seriously? You’re concerned about “playoff performance”? THE DETROIT RED WINGS HAVE NOT MADE THE PLAYOFFS SINCE 2016. Do I need to repeat that? You’re talking about playoffs when this franchise HASN’T EVEN MADE THE PLAYOFFS IN ALMOST A DECADE! I’m losing my mind. Who cares about Marner’s playoff performance when the Red Wings suck too much to even make the playoffs? WHO CARES?! Should I start preemptively caring about Lucas Raymond’s playoff performance too? What is wrong with you?!
Here’s the thing: Mitch Marner is EXACTLY what we need to make the playoffs. Because I’m sorry: missing the playoffs AGAIN is NOT acceptable. I don’t care what happens. I don’t care if Seider, Larkin, and Raymond all tear their ACLs at the beginning of the season. Missing the playoffs AGAIN is unacceptable, and Steve Yzerman should be fired the moment that it’s obvious that they’ll miss the playoffs. (Of course, I believe he should be fired anyway, but we all know that won’t happen.) Now, I know what the response will be: “Steve Yzerman’s goal should be to build a Cup competitive team and not a playoff team, and Marner doesn’t help with that”. Well, first off, you don’t become Cup competitive without making the playoffs first. But, I know that answer won’t be accepted, so I’ll move on to my next argument: There’s a good reason to believe that the problem is the market, not the player. Look at Marner in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Everyone thought it was him turning over a new leaf (pun not intended) in high-pressure situations. Before that, he had participated in the World Championship in 2017, where he played 10 games and had 12 points. A year before that, he was in the U20 World Championship and had 6 points in 5 games. We’ve seen him perform well in high-pressure situations…just not with Toronto. I believe if you remove him from the Toronto market, you’ll see him begin to perform well in the playoffs. Or, at least, better.
But, even if he doesn’t, don’t build a team that REQUIRES Marner to be a star in the playoffs. Basically, rely on him to elevate the team to get into the playoffs, but once the playoffs begin, surround him with players who thrive in high-pressure situations. Which, I do believe Steve Yzerman is doing, and doing well. We’ve seen Larkin, Kasper, and Raymond do in the past, and we’ve seen other players sporadically provide clutch moments. In the prospect pool, we’ve seen players like Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Nate Danielson, and Sebastian Cossa elevate their game in high-pressure situations. It can work. At least, the Red Wings have to try to make it work. Because guess what? They don’t have a 100-point producing player on the team or in the pipeline, currently. This team NEEDS a player who can elevate them, even if it’s just to get them into the playoffs, where other players then take over. You can’t compete for the Cup, after all, if you can’t make the playoffs. The focus should first be on making the playoffs, THEN on winning a Cup. Focusing on building a Cup-competitive roster when you can’t even make the playoffs is counting your chickens before they’re hatched.
The other thing is: the Red Wings are beggars. They’re not kings anymore. This isn’t 2008. They can’t pass up an opportunity to get a legitimate star in this league. They’re not in a position to be choosy. It’s like what Mike on Bluesky said, “ (It’s) Like a dying man in a desert refusing water because it's not filtered”. You have to take the help you can get. Refusing to even try to get Marner because he’s not the perfect star is ridiculous. Who else are you going to get? Are you going to trade for McDavid or MacKinnon? Good luck! 100-point producers rarely make the free agency market. When you have a chance, you have to take it. Elevating your team is ALWAYS the correct decision, ESPECIALLY when you’re trying to exit a rebuild. There is no legitimate reason to avoid Marner. I’m sorry. I can’t take seriously anyone who doesn’t want Marner. Unless you have different and far better reasons. But I currently fail to see any, but I’m open to being convinced. That said, “playoff performance” isn’t one of them, WHEN DETROIT CAN’T EVEN MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. If the Red Wings were regularly making the playoffs, this would be a legitimate argument, but they’re not, so shut up.
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