You may have been hearing scuttlebutt that Paul Woods was retiring as the radio analyst for the Detroit Red Wings broadcasts.

Well, it’s not just a rumor. It is a fact.

Woods confirmed to Detroit Hockey Now on Saturday that he will hang up his microphone at the end of the 2025-26 NHL season.

“It’s time,” Woods said. “It’s been 40 years.”

Woodsey! How bout that Paul Woods. Hard to believe Paul has been on the Detroit Red Wings radio broadcasts since 1987. Over 3,000 games he’s called on radio and longtime now with Ken Kal. Two great guys. But give it up to… WOODSEY! pic.twitter.com/neBGqNYIII

— Parker andTheMan (@parkerandtheman) May 8, 2024

Woods, 70, originally joined the Red Wings as a player in 1977. He was claimed from the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL Waiver Draft. Montreal had selected him in the third round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft.

The speedy winger hit for career highs with 19 goals and 42 points in the 1977-78 season, as Detroit made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 1969-70 campaign.

“I’ll never forget as a little boy running to get the Globe & Mail, so I could read the boxscores of the NHL games,” Woods said. “That was back when there were only six teams.

“Then I made it to the NHL. I always felt like I was the lucky one.”

Woods played with the Red Wings through the 1983-84 season. In 1987, he joined play-by-play voice Bruce Martyn in the broadcast booth. He’s been an ever-present ever since, staying on as part of the broadcast team when Ken Kal took over for the retired Martyn in 1995.

Woods Set Records In Red Wings Booth

On October 17, 2022, Woods called his 3,000th Red Wings game. He is the longest-serving radio analyst on Detroit sports broadcasting history.

When did Old Tom Morris start working for the Red Wings? Great look, Paul Woods! pic.twitter.com/7nKGxfha1n

— Greg Schmidt (@smittyg76) March 26, 2024

Like all good things, there comes a time when it must end. And Woods has decided that the time is now.

“I have family things I want to do,” said Woods, who makes his home across the Canada-US border in Windsor, Ontario. “I’ve got grandkids, and I want to be able to spend more time with them.”