Paul Henderson played 13 seasons in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Flames and 5 in the WHA for the Toronto Toros and Birmingham Bulls. He played over 1,000 games between the two major leagues, scoring 376 goals and 758 points. Henderson played in two NHL All-Star Games and was a member of the Memorial Cup-winning Hamilton Red Wings team as a junior.

Henderson is best known for leading Team Canada to victory at the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Henderson scored the game-winning goal in the sixth, seventh and eighth games, the last of which has become legendary in Canada and made him a national hero: it was voted the "sports moment of the century" by The Canadian Press and earned him numerous accolades. Henderson has twice been inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame: in 1995 individually and in 2005 along with all players of the Summit Series team. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2013.