The penalty kill, one area that hasn’t improved under McLellan, is part of the problem. The Red Wings rank last at 69.5 percent, which is historically bad. The 1979-80 Los Angeles Kings had the worst penalty kill (68.2 percent) since the statistic first began being tracked in the mid-1970s.

The Detroit Red Wings for the second year in a row won’t be sellers at the trade deadline, which at least is some progress for a team that shipped out players for future assets from 2017 to 2023. General manager Steve Yzerman might stand pat prior to Friday’s 3 p.

Veteran defenseman Seth Jones has already been shipped to the Florida Panthers. Ryan Lindgren is on Colorado’s defense. Former Red Wings player Gus Nyquist is not in Minnesota, not Nashville.