The Detroit Red Wings set a new standard with just how bad they can be on the penalty kill in 2024-25. It was so bad, beyond bad, nearly as bad as a team could get, that it ended up as the worst in franchise history and the fourth-worst in league history since the NHL started recording the stat.
They finished with a 70.1 penalty kill percentage, meaning opponents scored in three out of every 10 opportunities the Wings had at 4-on-5. And if you want more fun, it was the worst a team had performed on the penalty kill since the 1984-85 season when the Vancouver Canucks finished with a 70.5 percentage.
Yeah, we might be thanking Steve Yzerman for James van Riemsdyk and Mason Appleton, both of whom should stem the bleeding. Because it literally almost doesn't get any worse than this. And if the Red Wings want more respect around the league, they can start at least looking halfway decent on the PK.
A historically bad penalty kill in 2024-25 set a new record of futility in Hockeytown
I've often joked that we're looking at yet another "Dead Wings Era," and in so many ways, I hate to say it, but it's true. I mean, you have to try to go nine straight seasons without making the playoffs and recording historically bad, record-breaking numbers, and the Wings succeeded in that endeavor.
Now, the good news goes beyond Appleton and van Riemsdyk, since John Gibson, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic are joining the fray. Yeah, it's patchwork group, to put a generous spin on it, but at least we got some potential here.
Gibson's a proven player, so that's a checked box. Bernard-Docker's a player who grew on me back when I saw what he was doing over in Buffalo. And, honestly, I don't mind the Hamonic deal, since he'll push Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson and give the Wings another strong veteran presence in the locker room.
Decadence is always at its darkest before a new dawn
At lest that's what I'd like to think, but honestly, Yzerman's on to something here. No, this offseason didn't give fans in Hockeytown any game-changers who'll knock down 40 goals a season.
But if you can at least remedy a historically bad penalty kill that set a new franchise record in the worst ways, guess what? A few of those games on the schedule the Wings would otherwise lose would probably get flipped the other way.
It doesn't mean the Wings will shatter that playoff drought when April 2026 rolls around, and I'm not going to pretend they're anything but a middle-of-the-road team. But it should at least give those bottom-feeder wild card teams a serious run, and that's another step forward in this exhausting rebuild.
More from Octopus Thrower