from Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press,

“It’s strange being a visiting manager,” Holland said Tuesday night, before the Oilers played the Wings. “To come back and see all the people, life is about people. I’ve been a Red Wing for 36 years; I’ve lived in Detroit 25 years. There are so many special people. It started with Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch and now it’s Mrs. Ilitch and Chris Ilitch, it’s a family.”

Holland was in a strange situation on Tuesday — back home, even though he was a visitor.

And the two teams couldn’t be facing more different circumstances.

The Wings came into the game struggling through an eight-game losing streak. (This rebuild, which started under Holland, is ugly and painful.)

But Edmonton is heading in the other direction, despite losing to the Wings, 3-1, on Tuesday. It has started off the season in first place in the Pacific Division (8-4-1, 17 points).

It’s like Holland lost his job in Detroit, but fell up, defying gravity, into a better situation, at least in the short term.

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