Red Wings players honor broadcaster John Keating with a heartfelt tribute

For many of us, the voice of our favorite team is every bit as important as the team itself. And that was the case for John Keating, who capped off his final home game broadcast for the Detroit Red Wings. It was a career in which Keating’s voice became synonymous with the Wings, through their highest of highs and lowest of lows. 

So, despite the team’s monumental collapse this season and the fact they played the mighty Dallas Stars, Detroit came through. Big time. As though nothing was more important than to send Keating off into the sunset the right way. 

It was the kind of matchup you didn’t expect the Red Wings to win, considering their opponent and the way this one went back and forth. But in the end, Moritz Seider scored the go-ahead goal and the Wings refused to look back. 

Red Wings sent John Keating off into the sunset the right way

But the real story came after the game, in which the Red Wings paid tribute to Keating after the clock hit zero. As usual, Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing played, but the Wings raised their sticks and pointed to Keating, whose voice became synonymous with the team during his decades-long career, an excellent tribute. 

For many fans, it’ll be different hearing another voice calling the game next season and in the years following. That said, there’s also a strong contingent who will always associate Keating’s voice with the Wings, much like we still do for our own teams and their most distinguished broadcasters. Often, it’s just out of habit, having heard their broadcasts so often. 

Heading into last night’s game against a team like Dallas, I wouldn’t have expected much from the Wings, thanks to their springtime struggles. But it just goes to show that, when the stakes rise in different ways, such as seeing a longtime voice broadcasting the game for the final time, winning becomes the only option. 

John Keating’s legacy in Detroit rivals that of other longtime broadcasters

Keating’s legacy will live on in Hockeytown as fans of tomorrow will learn about him just as they’ll learn about players like Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman. They’ll hear his broadcasts when they tune in to watch older Red Wings games that fans will look fondly at decades from today, especially for a team whose glory days those in Detroit would love to see return. 

Overall, fans can thank Keating for his time as the team’s voice, and serving as the one staple between eras. Perhaps that’s why those in the broadcast booth emerge as fan favorites: You’ll always see a new team every year while most players stop by and play between three and five seasons for a club at the NHL level at most. 

But, you don’t see faces change as often in the broadcast booth. Through the darkest days of a franchise, something the Wings are going through now, seeing a familiar face brings that sense of reassurance, even if the team can’t always fulfill it.