It’s been quite some time since we checked in with Detroit Lions fans regarding their opinion of general manager Brad Holmes. The last time we polled our audience was almost exactly a year ago, following the team’s 2025 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, those poll results were lost to time (and a migration to a new content management system at SB Nation).
Detroit, MI
‘Bermuda Triangle death trap’ sinks Detroit Red Wings in bad loss to lowly Sabres
Detroit Red Wings: ‘We have to learn’ to close out opponents
Detroit Red Wings Todd McLellan, Patrick Kane & Lucas Raymond, Nov. 15, 2025 in Detroit.
Just as they seem to show they’ve learned something, the Detroit Red Wings fall behind in class.
They salvaged a point against the Buffalo Sabres, but that was after being ahead by three goals and then basically crashing.
“Giving up a shorty is, when the momentum is starting to swing their way, that’s a Bermuda Triangle death trap,” coach Todd McLellan said after the Wings lost, 5-4, in overtime at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Nov. 15.
The Wings (10-7-1) were up 4-1 midway through the game, and took a 4-2 lead into the third period. But closing down a team that sits near the bottom of the NHL standings was too much to ask.
“You have a chance at 4-3 on the power play to put the game out of reach and we give up a shorthanded goal,” Patrick Kane said. “Those are just things that are unacceptable that we have to learn.
“It hurts in the moment, but hopefully we can learn from it.”
The Wings played with a short bench the last 15 minutes after defenseman Simon Edvinsson went down the tunnel, but McLellan said Edvinsson “is fine.”
The Wings as a team, not so fine. They were able to practice two days in a row and applied that in a 6-3 victory over a talented young Anaheim Ducks team on Thursday.
Then came the Sabres game.
McLellan has been preaching game management and toughness between the ears since he arrived last Christmas. Eleven months later, it’s still an issue.
“Clearly, we haven’t learned that yet,” McLellan said. “I don’t even know if you could write a script like that. We’re shorthanded and we’re trying to score and creating turnovers. Until this group figures out what’s important at certain times of the game, we’re going to have those nights. Simple as that.
“I’m not sure that at times we value or crave the shutdown part. I think it’s always about getting the next goal. Yes, it would be nice to get the next goal, but preventing the next one is equally as important and sometimes even more timely. I’m not sure that we’ve figured that out.”
McLellan sounded frustrated as he delved into what went wrong as the Wings failed to recover despite having a lead still with 10 minutes to play in regulation.
“Just understanding what’s happening and what’s important in certain moments,” he said. “We have D that are joining a rush, we’re up by two with seven minutes left and it’s a risky rush. That just makes no sense to me.
“We have penalty-killers that, we’re throwing pucks back towards our end hoping to get a shot on goal on their end and turning it over for a breakaway. We’ve got Simon on the ice and he let [DeBrincat] take their 50-goal scorer who’s 6 foot 7 instead of him coming to play him. I don’t know what happens sometimes, but those are all game management situations.”
Tage Thompson basically went nearly the length of the ice to score on goalie John Gibson at 4:25 of the third period, and then Ryan McLeod stripped Moritz Seider of the puck and rushed up ice to score shorthanded at 9:28.
That tarnished an evening where the Wings looked like they had control, until they nosedived.
“We’ve got to keep playing our game,” said Lucas Raymond, who had three assists. “We’ve got to keep playing on our toes, but under control. Tonight was self-inflicted for sure. We gave up chances that you’re not supposed to do in the third period with a two-goal lead.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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4Warn Weather – SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy skies. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. A few storms could be strong with gusty winds and hail. High: 71.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy skies, becoming partly cloudy skies late. Low: 45.
SUNDAY (MOTHER’S DAY): Mix of sunshine and clouds, cooler temperatures. High: 61.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy skies. Another chilly night. Low: 41.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny skies, remaining chilly. High: 58.
After a beautiful end to the week on Friday with sunshine and a little cloud cover, with warmer temperatures moving into the region as well, some of us are waking up to some patchy dense fog on Saturday morning. Some places south of M-59 are seeing reduced visibilities down to around a mile. If you do run into some patchy dense fog, be sure to use your low beams.
That warming trend continues into the start of the weekend on Saturday, but it also brings a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Another cold front will work through the region by Saturday afternoon and early Saturday evening and that will bring our thunderstorm chance. High temperature is warming into low 70s by Saturday afternoon.
The Storm Prediction Center has placed most of the region under a Marginal Risk (1 out of 5) on our severe weather scale for the start of the weekend. Gusty winds and hail are the primary threats as we work through the start of the weekend, but this will not be a widespread threat for severe thunderstorms.
Behind that cold front for the end of the weekend on Sunday, we will keep a mixture of sunshine and clouds into the forecast. High temperatures running about 10 to 15° cooler to end the weekend. Expect high to warm into the upper 50s to lower 60s by Sunday afternoon.
Drier weather sticks around for the start of next week, before another chance of rain moves into the region by the time we get to Tuesday. The cooler-than-average temperatures will continue into the start of next week as well. Expect high temperatures to remain in the 50s for Monday and Tuesday.
Temperature start to warm up by the middle of next week, and Drier weather moves back in by Wednesday behind another cold front moving into the region. Expect high temperatures into the lower 60s on Wednesday to warm into the upper 60s by the time we get to Thursday. Above average temperatures move back into the region as we look ahead into the end of the week, expect high temperatures back into the lower 70s by the time we get to Friday.
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But as you can see below, Holmes has been an extremely popular figure among Detroit sports fans for pretty much his entire career.
Although, if there was a time when Holmes’ popularity took a hit, it was likely during the 2025 NFL season, when the Lions took their first clear step back since he and Dan Campbell came to town.
Since last year’s data was lost to time, this is a good opportunity to check back in with Lions fans. While Holmes certainly deserves a ton of credit for getting the Lions back to relevancy and helping them produce four consecutive seasons with winning records, there are some serious blemishes on his resumé now. The 2024 NFL Draft class has not lived up to his high standards through two seasons, some of his riskiest picks over the last few years have all failed to pay off, and last year’s roster just wasn’t good enough to withstand the injuries.
But Holmes is also coming off a very crowd-pleasing draft. Detroit addressed their two biggest needs with their first two selections, and there were no crazy head-scratching picks or expensive trade ups. Many have categorized his latest draft as “back to business as usual,” which could have some fans he lost back on his side.
However, that is all up to you. Vote on your thoughts about Holmes’ time in Detroit below, and share your extended thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of the page.
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