from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,
“Our team owner, Marian Ilitch, myself and Ken we are completely aligned on the strategy to build the Detroit Red Wings into Stanley Cup champions,” Ilitch said. “It’s going to be a process. We are all going to need patience. But he has the skill and the experience to lead us through that process again.”
Ilitch and Holland appeared at a press conference together a little more than an hour before the season finale at Little Caesars Arena. Holland said numerous times over the past couple months he was not concerned that he appeared to be a lame-duck manager, and Ilitch iterated the late announcement reflects the closeness between Holland and the Ilitch family.