It's really hard to finish bottom 5. Look at the Wings' 2022 lineup. Would you have traded leading scorer Larkin? Maybe could have traded 2nd leading score Bertuzzi a year earlier. But not played Seider or Raymond? I don't think having Pius Suter, Sam Gagner, Robby Fabbri, Vladimir Namestnikov or Adam Erne propped up the roster. And yet the Wings still finished with 74 points, which was 11 points above 5th overall.
https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/DET/2022.html
In 2023, the Wings finished with 80 points, which was 20 pts above 4th overall and 12th above 5th overall. But their 2nd and 3rd scorers were David Perron and Dominik Kubalik, it's not like the Wings were trying to ice a strong roster.
https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/DET/2023.html