Utah Grizzlies
Professional minor league ice hockey team in Salt Lake City, Utah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Utah Grizzlies were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They played their home games at Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah.
| Utah Grizzlies | |
|---|---|
| |
| City | West Valley City, Utah |
| League | ECHL |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Mountain |
| Founded | 1981 (in the CHL) |
| Home arena | Maverik Center |
| Colors | Green, black, copper, white[1] |
| Owners | Pro Hockey Partners, LLC |
| General manager | Erik Hudson |
| Head coach | John Becanic |
| Media | KSOP FloTv |
| Affiliates | Colorado Avalanche (NHL) Colorado Eagles (AHL) |
| Website | utahgrizzlies |
| Franchise history | |
| 1981–1983 | Nashville South Stars |
| 1983–1990 | Virginia Lancers |
| 1990–1992 | Roanoke Valley Rebels |
| 1992–1993 | Roanoke Valley Rampage |
| 1993–1994 | Huntsville Blast |
| 1994–2001 | Tallahassee Tiger Sharks |
| 2001–2002 | Macon Whoopee |
| 2002–2003 | Lexington Men O' War |
| 2005–2026 | Utah Grizzlies |
| 2026 | Trenton Ironhawks |
| Championships | |
| Division titles | 1 (2021–22) |
 Current season | |
History
Pre-history
The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars in Nashville, Tennessee, in the Central Hockey League. Henry Brabham then took over the team in 1983 and relocated them to Vinton, Virginia mid-season, to become the Virginia Lancers. Brabham and the Lancers were then one of the founding members of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in 1988.
The franchise was sold and relocated several times until it went dormant after the 2002–03 season. After the American Hockey League (AHL) incarnation of the Grizzlies suspended operations in 2005, David Elmore and Donna Tuttle of the Elmore Sports Group bought the rights to the dormant ECHL franchise and moved the team to the E Center to replace the previous Grizzlies franchise.
ECHL Grizzlies
Prior to the 2013–14 season, their NHL affiliate Calgary Flames changed their affiliation to the Alaska Aces. Incoming head coach and general manager Tim Branham announced a three-year agreement with the Anaheim Ducks on August 7, 2013.[2] After the Grizzlies made the post-season in every season within the Ducks organization, the Grizzlies and Ducks agreed to a multi-year extension during the 2015–16 season.[3]
Following the 2017–18 season, the Grizzlies missed the post-season for the first time in 11 years. At that time, their ECHL rival, the Colorado Eagles, joined the American Hockey League as an affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche after previously serving as the Avalanche affiliate in the ECHL. The Grizzlies ended their agreement with the Ducks and affiliated with the Avalanche, their then-closest geographical NHL club.[4][5]
Despite the arrival of the NHL in Utah in 2024, with the Utah Mammoth, the Grizzlies and Mammoth were never affiliated.
Relocation to Trenton, New Jersey
On July 23, 2025, West Valley City officials announced that they had agreed to a deal to sell the team to Delaware-based Pro Hockey Partners, LLC who will relocate the team to a different market for the 2026–27 season. Longtime owner David Elmore had died, and his widow Donna was in poor health, leading the family to sell. However, city council approval was required because the city owned a large minority stake in the team.[6] The former ECHL market Trenton, New Jersey, was the rumored destination for the Grizzlies. The team was reported be playing at the CURE Insurance Arena which is the former home of the Trenton Titans/Trenton Devils.[7] On September 9, 2025, the Grizzlies confirmed the sale to Pro Hockey Partners, LLC and the relocation to Trenton. The Grizzlies will be rebranded to the Trenton Ironhawks.[8]
Season-by-season record
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL= Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalty infraction minutes
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Standing | Year | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Kelly Cup |
| 2005–06 | 72 | 36 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 78 | 235 | 236 | 1712 | 4th of 6, West | 2006 | L, 0–4, AK | — | — | — |
| 2006–07 | 72 | 22 | 42 | 4 | 4 | 52 | 184 | 294 | 1953 | 5th of 5, West | 2007 | did not qualify | |||
| 2007–08 | 72 | 32 | 30 | 2 | 8 | 74 | 239 | 259 | 1595 | 4th of 5, West | 2008 | W, 4–2, FRE | W, 4–1, VIC | L, 0–4, LV | — |
| 2008–09 | 72 | 28 | 28 | 6 | 10 | 72 | 220 | 246 | 1372 | 4th of 6, West | 2009 | L, 1–4, AK | — | — | — |
| 2009–10 | 72 | 34 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 77 | 260 | 253 | 1292 | 3rd of 4, West | 2010 | W, 3–2, LV | L, 0–4, IDH | — | — |
| 2010–11 | 72 | 33 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 73 | 189 | 227 | 1674 | 3rd of 4, Mountain | 2011 | W, 3–1, STK | L, 0–4, VIC | — | — |
| 2011–12 | 72 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 6 | 72 | 183 | 223 | 1573 | 3rd of 4, Mountain | 2012 | L, 0–3, LV | — | — | — |
| 2012–13 | 72 | 29 | 30 | 4 | 9 | 71 | 217 | 277 | 1741 | 4th of 4, Mountain | 2013 | L, 0–4, ONT | — | — | — |
| 2013–14 | 71 | 38 | 24 | 3 | 6 | 85 | 187 | 173 | 1329 | 3rd of 4, Mountain | 2014 | L, 1–4, BAK | — | — | — |
| 2014–15 | 72 | 37 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 82 | 213 | 219 | 1170 | 4th of 7, Pacific | 2015 | W, 4–2, IDH | L, 1–4, ONT | — | — |
| 2015–16 | 72 | 39 | 27 | 3 | 3 | 84 | 223 | 206 | 942 | 3rd of 5, West | 2016 | W, 4–2, COL | L, 0–4, FW | — | — |
| 2016–17 | 72 | 36 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 79 | 225 | 240 | 1312 | 4th of 7, Mountain | 2017 | L, 1–4, ALN | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | 72 | 28 | 29 | 9 | 6 | 71 | 230 | 256 | 1212 | 6th of 7, Mountain | 2018 | did not qualify | |||
| 2018–19 | 72 | 37 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 83 | 232 | 218 | 1264 | 3rd of 7, Mountain | 2019 | L, 1–4, IDH | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | 62 | 34 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 79 | 207 | 164 | 884 | 3rd of 7, Mountain | 2020 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2020–21 | 72 | 35 | 26 | 5 | 6 | 81 | 207 | 219 | 1037 | 4th of 7, Western | 2021 | — | L, 0–3, ALN | — | — |
| 2021–22 | 72 | 42 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 87 | 240 | 225 | 959 | 1st of 7, Mountain | 2022 | W, 4–3, TUL | W, 4–2, RC | L, 1–4, TOL | — |
| 2022–23 | 72 | 35 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 230 | 259 | 1316 | 4th of 7, Mountain | 2023 | L, 2–4, IDH | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | 72 | 31 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 67 | 227 | 264 | 750 | 5th of 7, Mountain | 2024 | did not qualify | |||
| 2024–25 | 72 | 25 | 39 | 6 | 2 | 58 | 226 | 292 | 741 | 7th of 8, Mountain | 2025 | did not qualify | |||
| 2025–26 | 72 | 30 | 32 | 9 | 1 | 70 | 237 | 255 | 727 | 5th of 8, Mountain | 2026 | did not qualify | |||
