Barry Wright/The Independent

The long-standing analyst on the Detroit Red Wings radio broadcasts says the upcoming break for the Winter Olympics will create a fight to the finish for NHL teams vying for playoff berths.

And, Paul Woods says, the fans will be the big winners.

The league will break from Feb. 5-25 for the Games in Italy.

“When teams come out of that, we’re going to see a lot of healthy teams,” said the two-time Calder Cup (American Hockey League) champion during a recent hot stove event in Inwood.

At the time of the event, the Red Wings led the Atlantic Division but were only nine points better than the last place Buffalo Sabres with the Sabres holding three games in hand on Detroit.

“The parity is something else,” said Woods. ‘It’s fun to watch. He says unlike eras with dynamic teams such as the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and the Edmonton Oilers in the 1970’s and 80’s, teams can’t afford to take any nights off as even a short losing streak can affect your playoff chances in the long run.

Woods, who has family ties to northeast Lambton County, says the league is in good hands with young guns like Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer ready to take the mantle as some of the top players in the NHL.

“They’re highly skilled players,” he said, with coast-to-coast offensive ability but high-end players still need to play well on the defensive side of the puck something he learned as a young player from the late Al MacNeil playing in the American Hockey League.

“We want the skill, but we also want the intensity and the physicality,” something that was very evident in last year’s Four Nations Face Off, he said.

Meantime, the curtain will come down on Woods’ broadcast career at the end of this season.

“After injuries cut my playing career short, I was only going to do it (broadcasting) for one year, but it started to grow on me,” he chuckled.

Since sliding behind the mic in the late 1980’s, he’s been part of more than 3,000 NHL games with the Winged Wheel.

And while he’s looking forward to retirement, he’ll miss the camaraderie that the game provides.

“It’s the best game played by the best people,” he said.