Utah Grizzlies
The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah.
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 in 1988.The franchise was sold and relocated several times until it went dormant after the 2002–03 season. After the American Hockey League 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.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.
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.
Despite the arrival of the NHL in Utah in 2024, with the Utah Mammoth, the Grizzlies and Mammoth aren't currently affiliated.