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
Detroit Red Wings blank Montreal Canadiens behind John Gibson
Detroit Red Wings on huge divisional game ahead: ‘Have to perform’
Detroit Red Wings Andrew Copp, Patrick Kane and Todd McLellan, Jan. 9, 2025, in Detroit.
MONTREAL — The atmosphere at Bell Centre never disappoints, especially when two Original Six rivals meet on a Saturday night.
The Detroit Red Wings tuned out the “Go Habs, Go,” chants and turned in a fine road performance, avenging an opening night loss and evening the season series. The Wings came away from their only visit of the season to the home of the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-0 victory on Saturday, Jan. 10, in the second of three meetings.
Alex DeBrincat added a goal to his night when he was left wide-open to rip Patrick Kane’s pass into Montreal’s net 34 seconds into the third period. Andrew Copp added an empty-net goal with 1:07 to play.
The Habs, who schooled the Wings, 5-1, back in the season opener in October, were denied on 27 shots by John Gibson as he earned his third shutout since Dec. 8.
Red Wings playoff position
The two points earned lifted the Wings (27-15-4) into first place in the Atlantic Division, a point up on the Tampa Bay Lightning (who have played three fewer games). Next up, the Wings host Metropolitan Division leader Carolina on Monday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit), with the Hurricanes visiting on the night the Wings will retire Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91.
Rough stuff in Montreal
The Wings incurred some bumps along the way, especially Mason Appleton, who took one stick near the eye area and another – by teammate Elmer Söderblom – to the lips. At one point in the third period, Gibson had to check his helmet for damage after getting dinged by a puck.
But what a win.
The Wings came out with good pace, and there was a good deal of back-and-forth early on. The Habs shot wide on Gibson until more than five minutes in, when Ivan Demidov set up Oliver Kapanen just outside the crease. Kapanen’s shot slid into the paint, but Gibson was able to glove it before it crossed the goal line.
The Wings went on a power play seven minutes in, and the unit of Moritz Seider, Dylan Larkin, James van Riemsdyk, Lucas Raymond and DeBrincat had such control of the puck they were out the entire two minutes – but the Canadiens did a good job getting in lanes to block shots.
Another man advantage materialized around the midpoint when Brendan Gallagher high-sticked Appleton in the face, but again the Habs prevented the Wings from generating shots on net.
Putting it in the net
Ninety-one seconds into the second period, the Wings were back on a power play. Larkin forced a save from Jacob Fowler on a doorstep shot, but the game was back at even strength when they made it 1-0.
Jacob Bernard-Docker had the puck at his own goal line when he sent a pass to van Riemsdyk (who arrived at Bell Centre dressed as Batman, for his 4-year-old son) along the boards. By the time he got to the red line, van Riemsdyk had two defenders on him, so he dumped the puck deep. But instead of going around the net, as Fowler thought it would as he skated behind his net to play it, the puck bounced off the end boards and out front, where Raymond turned it into his third straight five-on-five goal in the last three games.
The Wings built on their momentum just past the midpoint of the game when they converted during their fourth power play. Seider had the point up top and found DeBrincat along the left boards. DeBrincat made a short pass to Larkin, who took advantage of van Riemsdyk getting in Fowler’s line of vision to one-time a shot that gave the Wings a 2-0 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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