Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League ( AHL ) . They play in Grand Rapids , Michigan at the Van Andel Arena . They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League , and are the 2013 Calder Cup Champions . The franchise began in the now - defunct International Hockey League in 1996 and merged into the AHL in 2001 . The only player to have his number retired in team history is Travis Richards . On June 26 , 2011 , GM Bob McNamara retired and is no longer with the team . The Griffins have forgone a GM and rely instead on the Red Wings for support . Franchise history . Returning professional hockey to Grand Rapids . The beginnings of the third International Hockey League ( IHL ) franchise in Grand Rapids , following the Grand Rapids Rockets and Grand Rapids Owls – teams that existed in the 1950s and late 1970s , respectively – lie in 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 . A " name the team " contest was held in June 1995 ; at the announcement , 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 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 . Former IHL goaltender and Cleveland Lumberjacks assistant general manager Bob McNamara was hired in January 1996 as general manager . 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 , which was then renovated for use as the Griffins ' practice facility . Independent years ( 1996 – 99 ) . 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 . 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 . " Detroit Red Wings affiliation ( 2002 – present ) . Located in - state only two hours from Detroit , the Grand Rapids Griffins have given the Detroit Red Wings what they had sought after for years – a local AHL affiliate . The previous affiliate , the Adirondack Red Wings , was considered too far away for the preferences of Red Wings management , and back - and - forth player assignments , so the franchise was suspended with the intention of relocation to Toledo , Ohio , just a short distance from Detroit . These plans never materialized , so that AHL franchise stayed dormant for years until being reactivated as the San Antonio Rampage . On January 24 , 2002 , the Griffins and Detroit Red Wings held a joint press conference at The B . O . B . in downtown Grand Rapids to announce a five - year affiliation agreement ( 2002 – 03 to 2006 – 07 ) . Red Wings general manager Ken Holland and assistant GM Jim Nill were present for the announcement , which was made before an overflow crowd of media and sponsors . Terms of the affiliation called for the Red Wings to supply a minimum of thirteen players to the Griffins each season . The majority of the Griffins ' roster is Detroit prospects and draft picks . On April 5 , 2002 , with a 3 – 2 victory at Chicago , the Griffins won the AHL ' s inaugural Bud Poile Trophy as the 2001 – 02 West Division champions . On March 9 , 2003 , thanks to losses by Rochester and Cincinnati , the Griffins won the John Chick Trophy as the 2002 – 03 Central Division champions . The title marked their second straight as AHL members . On April 14 , 2007 , the Griffins and Detroit Red Wings announced an agreement in principle to extend their affiliation through the 2011 – 12 season . On June 4 , 2008 , nine - former Griffins won the Stanley Cup as part of the 2007 – 08 Detroit Red Wings . On March 7 , 2012 , the Griffins and Detroit Red Wings announced a five - year affiliation agreement extension through the 2016 – 17 season . On June 18 , 2013 , the Griffins won the 2013 Calder Cup for the first time in franchise history , defeating the Syracuse Crunch in six games . On May 13 , 2014 , the Griffins announced a landmark three - year television broadcast agreement with Midwest Entertainment Sports ( MES ) . MES will televise a minimum of 40 games during each of the next three seasons . Season - by - season results . American Hockey League ( 2001 – present ) . ! rowspan = " 2 " | AHL season ! rowspan = " 2 " | Griffins season ! rowspan = " 2 " | Conference ! rowspan = " 2 " | Division ! colspan = " 10 " | Regular season ! colspan = " 6 " | Postseason ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Result ! 2001 – 02 ! 2002 – 03 ! 2003 – 04 ! 2004 – 05 ! 2005 – 06 ! 2006 – 07 ! 2007 – 08 ! 2008 – 09 ! 2009 – 10 ! 2010 – 11 ! 2011 – 12 ! 2012 – 13 ! 2013 – 14