The return of professional hockey to Grand Rapids The team is the third
International Hockey League (IHL) franchise in Grand Rapids, following the
Grand Rapids Rockets of the 1950s and the
Grand Rapids Owls of the late 1970s, and owes its existence to the construction of a 10,000-plus capacity arena in the downtown area. Following the project's authorization,
Amway executives Dave Van Andel and
Dan DeVos formed West Michigan Hockey, Inc., in January 1995 with the intent of securing a minor league hockey franchise. The group promptly began discussions with the IHL,
American Hockey League (AHL) and
East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) to gauge interest in the Grand Rapids market. Also that month, Bruce Saurs, owner of the IHL's
Peoria Rivermen, visited Grand Rapids to discuss with the group potential relocation of his team. In April, however, the IHL's board of directors voted to waive one of its expansion criteria – that the city's metropolitan area comprise at least one million people – and grant West Michigan Hockey a franchise for US$7 million. The league ultimately was swayed by the community's response, which included over 8,000 season ticket requests, and the new, fully financed arena. paved the way for professional hockey's return to Grand Rapids. At the announcement of a "name the team" contest in June 1995, DeVos hinted that the group was looking for something "with a face ... with a personality, that we can translate into a mascot of some sort". "Grand Rapids Griffins" was chosen as the winning entry, and the logo (showing not a griffin, but an animal more similar to an
opinicus) and colors of the hockey club were unveiled in November. The logo was designed by Sean Michael Edwards Design, Inc., a New York firm whose portfolio includes logos for the
Florida Panthers and
Seattle Mariners. In keeping with the traditional theme desired by the club, navy blue and gold were chosen as the primary colors, along with hunter green, red and silver accents. "We didn't want to be trendy in any way", DeVos said. In January 1996,
Bob McNamara, former IHL goaltender and assistant general manager of the
Cleveland Lumberjacks, was appointed general manager of the Griffins. His first move was to hire
Dave Allison, who had briefly coached the
Ottawa Senators that season, as head coach. Among the first players to join the team were defensemen
Todd Nelson and
Travis Richards and goaltender
Pokey Reddick, all of whom brought
National Hockey League (NHL) experience. On the business side, the Griffins secured a deal with
WOOD-AM to broadcast all regular season and playoff games in their inaugural season. Rich Kincaide then left his sportscaster position at
WJR in Detroit to become the Griffins' play-by-play announcer and director of communications. The team also signed agreements with
WZZM and
WWMT to televise a handful of games each. Following lengthy negotiations with the City of Grand Rapids, a DeVos-owned company took over operations of Belknap Ice Arena (now known as Griff's Ice House), which was then renovated for use as the Griffins' practice facility.
Independent years (1996–99) 's last minor league stop before establishing himself in the NHL. McNamara filled the Griffins' 1996–97 inaugural season roster with IHL and AHL veterans (notably
Michel Picard,
Jeff Nelson and
Don McSween) and a handful of prospects. He also signed affiliation agreements with the
Muskegon Fury of the
Colonial Hockey League (CHL) and the
Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL. The Griffins won their inaugural game on the road against the
Indianapolis Ice, but lost the home opener to the
Orlando Solar Bears six days later. An early-season record of 9–10–2 improved after the addition of
Pavol Demitra, who was acquired in a trade with the
Las Vegas Thunder in late November, and NHL veteran
Danton Cole, who signed with the team after a stint in the
German Ice Hockey League (DEL). The Griffins were paced by the top forward line of Picard, Jeff Nelson and Demitra; all three averaged over one point per game during the regular season. Demitra left the Griffins in March 1997 after signing a contract with the
St. Louis Blues, and scored over 300 goals in sixteen NHL seasons. He was replaced on the first line by rookie
Kevyn Adams, who went on to play in ten NHL seasons. Grand Rapids finished in last place in a strong Northeast Division with a record of 40–30–12; the team's opening round playoff series with Orlando ended in a 3–2 loss. Picard was voted a first-team all star by the league's coaches after finishing fourth in league scoring with 46 goals and 55 assists in 82 games. The franchise's first season was considered a success by the IHL, which held its 1997 All-Star Game in front of a capacity crowd at the 10,834-seat
Van Andel Arena. Thirty-nine of forty-one home games were also sellouts, and the Griffins set an IHL record with season ticket sales capped at 7,000. Before the 1997–98 season, the Griffins selected
Glen Metropolit and two other players in the IHL expansion draft – postponed a year due to extended labor negotiations between the league and its players – signed NHL journeymen forwards
Mark Greig and
Ed Patterson, and re-signed Michel Picard. Most of the previous season's defensive core also returned, though Don McSween was traded following
Kerry Huffman's signing early in the season. Goaltender Pokey Reddick requested and was granted a trade after splitting playing time with
Ian Gordon early in the season;
Patrick Lalime signed with the team shortly thereafter. By December, the Griffins were contending for first place in the Northeast Division, largely on the strength of their goaltending and the top forward line of Picard, Metropolit and Greig. Picard was recalled by the St. Louis Blues in January for fifteen games;
Chris Lindberg signed with the team shortly after Picard's recall, but was later suspended by the IHL after bolting to play for Swiss team
EV Zug. The Griffins' record fell to 30–25–7 by March, and disagreements over what changes needed to be made prompted McNamara to fire head coach Dave Allison. McNamara assumed the coaching duties for the final twenty games of the regular season, as well as the playoffs, in which the Griffins were swept in the first round by the
Cincinnati Cyclones. Picard, with 28 goals and 41 assists in 58 games, again led the team in scoring, though another recall to the Blues left him unavailable for the playoffs. led the Griffins in scoring for the 1998–1999 IHL season. He played in over 400 NHL games with seven teams. In July 1998,
Guy Charron was introduced as the Griffins' new head coach; his previous seventeen years of coaching experience included five years as an assistant coach with the
Calgary Flames of the NHL. His new team endured a flurry of roster moves following the departure of Mark Greig, Patrick Lalime and
Shane Hnidy, all of whom signed NHL contracts.
Kip Miller signed with the Griffins in August but left the team before playing in a regular season game, instead earning an NHL roster spot after his rights were traded to the
Pittsburgh Penguins. Key additions who stuck with the team included forward
Robert Petrovicky and
Darren Rumble. Early-season signees Joe Frederick and
Andrei Vasilyev provided an offensive boost, but injuries on the defensive side preceded a franchise-record seven-game losing streak in November, leaving the Griffins with the worst record in the IHL at that point. Among the few bright spots for the team was the play of linemates Metropolit, who scored the franchise's first ever natural
hat trick that season, and Petrovicky, who was named the IHL's Player of the Month for November after scoring five goals and 12 assists in 12 games. Petrovicky signed an NHL contract with the
Tampa Bay Lightning in February, and the Griffins made numerous roster moves in the following weeks in an effort to qualify for the playoffs. The team finished with the second worst record in the 1998–99 IHL season, and failed to earn a playoff spot. (The IHL, down to 16 teams that year, had adopted a 12-team playoff format.) Metropolit's 81 points led the team and placed him ninth in league scoring; he went on to play in eight NHL seasons.
Ottawa Senators affiliation and joining the AHL (1999–2002) Late in the 1998–99 season, general manager Bob McNamara on numerous occasions discussed an affiliation agreement with
Rick Dudley, the first-year general manager of the Ottawa Senators. Dudley considered other franchises, and left the Senators before a deal was in place, but his replacement,
Marshall Johnston, ultimately chose Grand Rapids. The two-year agreement called for the assignment of twelve Senators prospects to the Griffins each year. "[T]he most significant reason we've pursued this is because we want to win a championship", said McNamara. Griffins co-owner Dan DeVos echoed that sentiment: "This decision was not based on a financial analysis. Our intent was to improve our record." However, in early 2012, Red Wings assistant general manager Ryan Martin was named general manager of the Griffins as well. On March 7, 2012, the Griffins and Detroit Red Wings announced a five-year affiliation agreement extension through the
2016–17 season. On June 13, 2013, the Griffins won the
Calder Cup for the first time in franchise history, defeating the
Syracuse Crunch in six games. On June 16, 2015,
Todd Nelson was named head coach of the Griffins. On June 13, 2017, the Griffins won the
2017 Calder Cup, defeating the Syracuse Crunch in six games in a repeat of the 2013 finals. This time they won it on home ice in front of a sell out crowd at Van Andel Arena—the first time that a Grand Rapids-based team had won a title on home ice.
Tyler Bertuzzi was named MVP and received the
Jack A. Butterfield Trophy. On July 6, 2017, the Griffins and Detroit Red Wings announced a five-year affiliation agreement extension through the
2021–22 season. After three seasons and one Calder Cup, head coach Todd Nelson was hired as an assistant with the
Dallas Stars in the NHL and was replaced by assistant
Ben Simon for the
2018–19 season. On July 25, 2022, the Griffins and Detroit Red Wings announced another five-year extension of their affiliation agreement through the 2026–27 season. On June 14, 2023, Dan Watson was named head coach of the Griffins. ==Season-by-season results==