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 sound alarm: ‘Got to fix something’ before Olympics
The Detroit Red Wings are sounding the alarms. They have two games left and are winless in their last three as the Olympic breaks nears.
Detroit Red Wings: ‘We didn’t respond’ against Colorado Avalanche
Detroit Red Wings Dylan Larkin, J.T. Compher & Todd McLellan, Jan. 31, 2026 in Detroit.
Todd McLellan rattled off a litany of things he didn’t like about the Detroit Red Wings’ latest performance, and then a litany of things they need to look at in order to regain their footing.
The Wings head into their last two games before the Olympic break, both on the road, and the first against a team that just leveled them. The Colorado Avalanche await the Wings again on Monday, Feb. 2, in Denver, having just picked them part Saturday in Detroit.
That 5-0 loss was what the Wings deserved; they looked flat after failing to generate anything during two power plays in the first period. The Avalanche, on the other hand, just kept building.
“We just didn’t have a response to their offense,” forward Dylan Larkin said. “They got to what they like to do and we kind of just watched a little bit.”
The Avs top the NHL standings, but were missing three key players from their lineup and had lost four of their last five games. They’re not invincible, the Wings just made them look that way with a performance that deserved nothing but criticism.
“A lack of energy, a lack of drive, a lack of execution,” McLellan said. “You can’t have all of those things disappear at one point and expect to have success. I didn’t think we skated well at all. I didn’t think we passed real well at all, which affects your skating. And then when it was time to do some of the harder, the heavier things, battles, 50-50s loose stuff, the foot races, they were much better than we were.
“We’ve got to fix something.”
It’s been a week since the Wings returned from a three-game road trip with five points, and there was a consensus among players and McLellan that this season, when they’ve hit a ditch, they’ve been able to to drive themselves out. Now they’re trying to gain traction after picking up just one point from a three-game home stand.
“We have to figure out why we’re flat,” McLellan said. “There’s different reasons for that. One is lack of focus. And if there’s a lack of focus, then that’s on all of us to get it back and make sure we’re executing. It could be that you get stale with line mates and it’s not working. It could be complacency that slips in and you’re okay with what’s going on and that’s wrong. We have to fix that.
“It could be a bit of a fatigue factor. And if it is that, then we’ve got to suck it up. We have six periods left. And those could be the deciding points. If we aren’t completely willing to dig in and get after them, then regret comes in many different ways and at many different times. Or we can dig in and at least give ourselves an opportunity.”
The Wings (32-18-6) are still in second place in the Atlantic Division, but the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins are within close chase. And most of the players in the room should still remember the lesson from 2023-24, when the Wings missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker. That’s how valuable a single point can be. Feeling sorry or frustrated over how things have gone these last few games can’t fester.
“The outside, the rest of the hockey world doesn’t care,” McLellan said. “We have to care. We have to get it back on track. This is what it feels like to be in a battle and in a race, and that’s good for us to be in it. But the fact that we’re in it, we have to respect the opportunity that we have.”
These last two weeks have shown the Wings playing some of their best hockey, during the road trip, and then coming home and looking progressively worse.
“You’re going to have ups and downs,” J.T. Compher said. “It’s stopping the downs. Todd said during the game that when it’s going bad, you’ve got to stop it. And it doesn’t mean it goes all the way back up to the best level you’ve got. It’s just got to inch back upwards.
“There’s a ton of belief in our room. There’s a lot of confidence in our room. And we’ve done it all year. We just need to return to that level.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
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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