The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the top minor league affiliate of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. The team’s visual identity has evolved through two distinct primary marks since the franchise began play in 1996, with the current logo featuring a griffin mascot named “Griff” standing guard over the city’s skyline.
Design and History
The Griffins franchise was announced in November 1995, and its original name and logo were developed by Sean Michael Edwards Design, a New York firm whose portfolio also included logos for the Florida Panthers and Seattle Mariners. The original logo’s colors included gold, silver, navy, red and forest green.[1]
The franchise made its first subtle logo change in 2002, removing green and emphasizing red to celebrate a new affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings.[2]
In August 2015, ahead of the franchise’s 20th anniversary season, the Griffins introduced a new primary logo and color scheme. This marked the first primary logo change in franchise history. The Reebok-designed logo features Griff fiercely protecting the skyline of Grand Rapids, reinforcing the pride the Griffins have in their city while portraying an aggressiveness that was absent from the original logo. Prior to its adoption as the primary logo, the artwork had been featured on the Griffins’ home Wednesday jerseys since 2012.[3]
With the 2015 redesign, the team added black to its color scheme for the first time, after prominently featuring blue as part of its first three jersey designs (1996-02, 2002-07 and 2007-15). Red remained a principal color, in part reflecting the organization’s strong affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings, while silver and gold were retained as accents.[3]
In September 2024, the Griffins announced their first jersey design changes since 2015-16. The team’s logo and color scheme of red, black, metallic silver, and metallic gold remained unchanged, but red and gold both took on new prominence in the CCM-designed home and road jerseys. The biggest adjustments featured red replacing black on the shoulders and gold replacing silver in the trim.[4]
In July 2025, the Griffins released a 30th anniversary logo for the 2025-26 American Hockey League season. The anniversary logo was planned as a fixture at center ice inside Van Andel Arena all season long while also displayed as a patch on all home and away game jerseys.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The current primary logo depicts Griff, the team’s griffin mascot, standing guard over downtown Grand Rapids. According to the team, the logo reinforces the pride the Griffins have in their city while portraying an aggressiveness that was absent from the original logo.[3]
The team has also noted that griffins were guardians of gold in ancient lore, making the enhanced use of gold in the 2024 jersey redesign appropriate in the team’s jerseys.[4]
The red in the color scheme reflects the organization’s strong affiliation with the Detroit Red Wings.[3]
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