Paul Woods reflects on 40-year career as Red Wings broadcaster

The Detroit Red Wings’ season came to an end on Wednesday night. The Red Wings were blown out by the Florida Panthers, 8-1, to end their 2025-26 campaign.

As the season came to an end, so did an era of broadcasting in Detroit, as Paul Woods called his last game. Before the game with the Panthers, Woods reflected on his time as a broadcaster with the team with Daniella Burce of FanDuel Sports Network.

“It’s been a great career. It’s just been fantastic. Well past my expectations,” Woods said.

Woods spent more than just 40 years as part of the Red Wings franchise. He was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round of the 1975 NHL Entry Draft and went on to win two AHL Calder Cups with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs. Still, he did not make it to the NHL with the Canadiens, leaving him open to the 1977 NHL Waiver Draft, where the Red Wings selected him.

He would join the Red Wings as a player in the 1977-78 season, going on to play 501 games with the franchise and retiring following a one-year stint in the AHL in 1984-85. Then, in 1987, he began his career as the color commentator for the Wings radio broadcast. It was not a long-term plan, though.

“I thought it might be something good to do for a year to say I did it,” Woods said. “I had no intention of doing it for a long period of time. And then it just started to grow on me a little bit.”

That one-year gig turned into calling for 3,000 games, seeing the Red Wings make the playoffs in 24-straight seasons, and win four Stanley Cups.

“It’s just a gift to be able to say I saw the Red Wings win those Cups,” he said. “For the former players, we take great pride in that, too. We didn’t do it, but we were part of that organization. It means a lot to us.”

While he saw the highs, he has seen the lows as well. The Red Wings finished the season 41-31-10, missing the playoffs for a tenth straight season. As the team looks to break the longest current playoff drought in the NHL, they will have a new broadcast team, as Woods moves to the next chapter of his life.

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