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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Grizzlies’ relationship with Colorado began more than 20 years ago on a high note.
In 1994-95, the Grizzlies won the Turner Cup, the official championship of the now-defunct International Hockey League. But at the end of that season, the NHL's Quebec Nordiques announced relocation to the Mile High City, forcing a move by the Grizzlies to Salt Lake City, eventually signing a 40-year lease agreement with what is currently the Maverik Center in West Valley Center.
The two sides came back together Thursday afternoon.
Utah announced its latest Double-A affiliation Thursday afternoon with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, becoming the club’s exclusive East Coast Hockey League affiliate, effective July 1.
"We've had quite a bit of success in Utah over the past five seasons, but we’ve got to get over the hump," said Grizzlies head coach and general manager Tim Branham, whose team has qualified for the ECHL playoffs in 10 of the last 11 seasons. "I think it’s pretty clear the support the Avalanche have given the Eagles has been tremendous; they truly believe in player development. That in itself is extremely important for us at this level.
"It's important to let the players here know that they aren’t forgotten and that we are looking to develop everybody."
The Avs' previous ECHL affiliate, the two-time reigning ECHL Kelly Cup champions, previously announced a move to the American Hockey League.
That left an opening in the ECHL for the Avs, and the Grizzlies — buoyed by the success of a modern-day record crowd of 203,990 tickets sold in the 2017-18 season and the surge in Western hockey brought by the NHL expansion Vegas Golden Knights — quickly signed on with the Colorado side.
"We feel really fortunate to be part of this family now," said Craig Billington, assistant general manager of the Avs who also manages the Eagles. "As this evolved, it’s completing an affiliation and evaluation that we had internally that we think is a tremendous fit and the best we ever had.
"Bringing Utah into the fold, Salt Lake is the best in the business. We are dealing with people who are aligned philosophically with our team."
With the youngest roster in the NHL, the Avalanche have put a premium on developing talent through their farm system — a process made even more important under the NHL’s current salary cap.
The process proved fruitful for the Eagles, based in Loveland, Colorado — and is now hoped to prove fruitful for Utah, which was previously affiliated with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks for the past five seasons.
"We're about winning and developing players, and that’s the path that you see all the way through for us," Billington said. "The East Coast Hockey League is more than a parking place for us. It’s a place to develop players … and we feel fortunate to have it in Salt Lake now."
