WEST VALLEY CITY — It's over.
After 30 seasons, three leagues, 2,440 games (1,440 ECHL, 800 IHL/AHL), 913 players, over 200 of which went on to play in the NHL, and with hockey booming in the state, the Utah Grizzlies have been sold and will now become the Trenton Ironhawks.
The Maverik Center will now host another indoor football league.
The original Utah Grizzlies arrived in Utah after winning an IHL championship in Denver, only to be displaced by the rebranding of the Quebec Nordiques, who became the NHL's newest team, the Colorado Avalanche. For more than 30 years, the Grizzlies were the heartbeat of affordable, accessible hockey in Utah and survived league shifts from the IHL to the AHL, and in 2005 to the ECHL.
In the final game, the Grizzlies fell to the Rapid City Rush 5-4 in overtime Saturday. After being down 4-1, the Grizzlies came back to tie it and to create the buzz of some last-minute Grizzlies magic, but fell short in OT.
The final buzzer sounded, but nobody left. The stands were packed with over 8,000 fans, who wiped away tears as they cheered one last time. Booster club members clutched tissues as they scribbled messages on the ice. The players stayed on the ice for three hours, signing autographs and taking pictures with lifelong fans.
"Without question, I will miss the Grizz community the most," Chris Haggin, the longtime PA announcer for the Grizzlies, told KSL. "Just an amazing group of fans who, along with the fans of the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, laid the groundwork for what's happening with the Utah Mammoth."
Mason Mannek grew up going to Grizzlies games, played his youth hockey with the Junior Grizzlies, turned pro, and became a Grizzly. He said he was "pretty bummed" about the Grizzlies leaving the state.
"After I went to the game, I looked through some photos," Mannek said. "I think we took the Grizz for granted, what they meant to the state, and all of us personally. The Grizzlies gave me my love for hockey."
There is some hope for fans who need a more affordable option for pro hockey. In 1994, local fans went through the same heartbreak when Larry H. Miller sold the Salt Lake Golden Eagles to a group in Detroit, leaving the door open for a new owner and a new team to fill the void a year later.
Haggin said he believes "minor league hockey will return to the Wasatch Front sooner than later."
"Perhaps I'm looking at the situation with the proverbial rose-colored glasses, but it's hard to think there won't be pro hockey at the Mav; I just love that building," Haggin said.
Mannek has similar thoughts: "Minor hockey will be back, I have no doubt. Utah hockey is booming; there is a demand for hockey that Utah can meet. Plus, financially, Mammoth games aren't attainable for a lot of Utah families."
The new NHL template is to have its AHL and ECHL affiliates close to the NHL club. Vegas has its AHL club 20 minutes from T-Mobile Arena, and its ECHL club is in Tahoe. Rumors of new arenas in the St. George area, and the possible need or want for a newer 10,000-seat arena in the Salt Lake Valley for the Olympics are also keeping fans' hopes alive.
To every player who ever wore the claw, every coach who paced the bench, every trainer, staffer, play-by-play announcer who made game nights magical, to every fan who stood and cheered until their voice gave out: thank you for being part of my family. I, too, believe there will be a minor league team here again, but for now ... it's over.
