Report: Avalanche’s ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies expected to relocate to Trenton
It looks like a constant on the minor-league hockey scene will be on its way east.
According to insider Frank Seravalli, the Utah Grizzlies, the ECHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, are expected to announce on Tuesday that the team will relocate to Trenton, New Jersey, for the 2026-27 season. The team would play at the CURE Insurance Arena, the former home of the ECHL’s Trenton Titans from 1999 to 2013.
Franchise News: Hearing @ECHL's @UtahGrizzlies are relocating to Trenton, NJ to play at CURE Insurance Arena – former longtime home of the Titans – for the 2026-27 season.
Expect a formal announcement on Tuesday and a contest to follow to name the team.
Seravalli also reported that the organization will hold a “name the team” contest to find a new nickname for the franchise.
The move of the Grizzlies was inevitable. Due to the passing of Elmore Sports Group founder David Elmore in 2023 and the declining health of his wife and co-owner, Donna Tuttle, the team began exploring the option of selling the franchise. The sale to Pro Hockey Partners LLC was approved in late July, with the intention of relocating the team becoming imminent.
Many hoped that the relocation of the Arizona Coyotes to Salt Lake City might spur a relationship between the NHL’s Mammoth and the Grizzlies, as the two teams are a little over 10 miles apart. However, no bond has since been formed. In fact, Utah will go without an ECHL affiliate this coming season after being partnered with the Allen Americans last year.
The 2025-26 campaign will mark the Grizzlies’ 32nd season in action. The team was introduced in the International Hockey League in 1994, making the move to the American Hockey League when the IHL closed its doors in 2001. After the AHL incarnation suspended operations in 2005, Elmore stepped in and brought an ECHL franchise to West Valley City.
The Grizzlies experienced success throughout their history, winning the IHL’s Turner Cup in their first two seasons of existence. The ECHL Grizzlies made it as far as the Western Conference Finals twice, missing the Kelly Cup Playoffs four times in 20 seasons.
During the Titans (also known as the Devils for two seasons) tenure in the ECHL, the team made it to the Kelly Cup Finals twice, winning it all in 2005.