New Jersey hockey has just gotten bigger. While the rest of the state is focused on waiting for the 2025-26 season to begin for the Devils, it was announced on Monday that the ECHL would be returning to New Jersey. Frank Severelli on X reported that the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies are going to be relocating to Trenton, NJ.
The former Grizzlies will be playing in the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton. The arena previously housed the Devils' ECHL affiliate, the Trenton Titans, which was renamed the Devils in 2007 after the Devils acquired them, before reverting to the Titans for the 2011 season.
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.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 8, 2025
Expect a formal announcement on Tuesday and a contest to follow to name the team.
The Titans/Devils would have some success in their franchise, specifically in the early 2000s, when they had made the playoffs 8 times in their franchise history. The Titans won a season title in the 2000-01 season, where they would be the best team in the league that season at 50-18-4 for a 104-point season, winning the Northeast Division. In the playoffs, they would win the Northern Conference bracket but would ultimately fall short in the Kelly Cup Finals against the South Carolina Stingrays. While the Titans would win another season title in the following year, they would fall short in the divisional finals. Thankfully, in the 2004-05 season for the Titans, they would go on to win their first and only Kelly Cup in franchise history. When they switched from the Titans to the Devils, they unfortunately did not have the same success they once had and would disband after the 2012-13 season.
There have been a couple of players who have played for both the Devils and the Titans, including defensemen Jay Leach, who only had one assist in his NHL career in the 2008-09 season, Brad Mills who had one goal in his career against the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2010-11 season, former goalie Jeff Frazee who only played in one game in a 6-3 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2012-13 season, and Pierre-Luc Létourneau-Leblond who had his only three assists in his NHL career.
The tweet also explains that there will be a fan contest to vote on the name of the team. With the team needing a strong fan base, there should be some creative names available. However, I also wouldn’t be surprised if they throw in the names Titans or Devils for nostalgic purposes.
This move to the ECHL will be huge for the state, as it will bring back some of the professional hockey that has been lost, even if Trenton is a bit of a far travel for some. On top of that, this could be a future place for Devils prospects to play and develop, ultimately becoming better players once they reach the NHL and play for the Devils.