The club entered the British Ice Hockey League Structure at the bottom of Division 2 (Midland Section) at a time when each team was only allowed a maximum of three foreign players.

With Lawless deciding to play himself, he brought over fellow Canadians Perry Olivier and Bill Taylor to join him, with the remaining places going to British players, one of whom was Paul Morganti, a student at Cardiff University who had been raised in Canada and had significant high school hockey experience.

In the other semi-final Scottish League Champions Aviemore Blackhawks beat Southern Winners Streatham Bruins(13–4) to set up an all Celtic final the following day.

Key signings included goalie Jeff Smith, coach Brian Kanewischer and Canadian defender Shannon Hope as a replacement for Bill Taylor who was injured midway through the previous season.

During a game on 16 January in Telford, the Devils players were subjected to constant sticking offences resulted in Shannon Hope receiving a serious injury just below his eye.

It was the first time top British players were being offered good money to sign for other clubs and it led to claims that Cardiff and their "Cheque Book Hockey" would ruin the game.

With the Devils finally reaching the promised land of the Premier Division, John Lawless was able to strengthen his team with the addition of an extra import now that he himself had received his British Passport.

Victory in the pre-season Trafford Tournament gave an indication of the success to come, although the Devils did get knocked out of the Autumn Cup at the semi-final stage to Durham Wasps.

After Doug McEwen had scored the 23rd shot, Jeff Smith saved Tony Hand's attempt and the Devils had won the Playoff Championship in one of the greatest Finals of all time, live on BBC Grandstand.

In came Derek King (Fife Flyers), Neil Browne (Slough Jets), Paul Heavey and Peter Smith (both Peterborough Pirates).

Despite a record breaking Europa Cup tournament which included an 11–8 victory over Rodovre and a 3rd placed group finish, the team struggled for consistency domestically.

The then-owner, Bob Phillips was the subject of much scorn amongst fans due to the perceived mismanagement and effective destruction of what was then one of Britain's most established and stable teams.

During the first two seasons under Phillips, large protests and demonstrations were commonplace outside games, with initially hundreds of supporters club members appearing outside the arena.

The Save Our Rink Action Committee (SORAC) formed to lead calls from the city's ice hockey clubs and fans for a temporary facility to be constructed while a more permanent building was finally built.

The Devils however managed an incredible turn around in the second leg, defeating the Blaze 4–1 to tie the game on aggregate and won the cup 1–0 in the following penalty shoot-out.

A cup double was snatched from the Cardiff Devils' grasp when they lost 1–0 on penalties to the Nottingham Panthers in the 2006–07 Playoff Final, after the game finished 1–1 after overtime.

The Devils managed to qualify for the playoff weekend by beating the Nottingham Panthers at the Trent FM Arena, and holding them to a 3–3 draw the following evening.

Two summer signings, defence man Likit Andersson and forward Rod Hinks, were cut from the squad due to injury and performance respectively.

The Devils scraped through to the playoff semi-finals in Nottingham after beating the Belfast Giants with an overtime goal in the Cardiff Arena from Captain Brad Voth, ending the series 6–5.

The Devils started their season fairly well with big imports such as Mark Smith and Max Birbraer returning and newly signed forward Tylor Michel becoming a fan favourite quickly.

Shortly afterward, import defenceman Scott Romfo was released, with coach Gerad Adams citing salary costs as the main reason.

The reason being that Coach Adams felt Voth was being unfairly targeted by officials because of the image he had built up over the years as a hard-hitting enforcer, and that by releasing him of his duties, he could re-focus on his game.

On 3 April, the Devils defeated the newly crowned league champions Coventry Blaze in the playoff semi-final in Nottingham by 6 goals to 3 to advance to the final.

With enforcer Justin Sawyer leaving the club for personal reasons in October 2010, and with iconic power forward Brad Voth out with a hand injury, things were looking bleak.

With Weller on board and Voth back in the line-up, the club embarked on a record breaking winning streak, which ended after a penalty shootout loss in Dundee on 16 January.

The victory also saw first line winger Jon Pelle beat the league record for goals in a season (35), previously held by former Devils player Mike Prpich.

Cardiff initially delayed the announcement of Lord's successor as head coach and, on 15 September 2020, the Elite League confirmed the suspension of the 2020–21 season due to ongoing uncertainty over coronavirus and its restrictions.

The Devils won all three games in that group qualifying them for the final round of the Continental Cup in January against HK Nitra, Ducs d'Angers and Asiago Hockey.

[35][36] Between the 12-14 of January 2024, the Cardiff Devils hosted the IIHF Continental Cup Final at their home venue, the recently rebranded Vindico Arena.

[39] The 2024 offseason saw Cardiff bring back some notable former names, including defenseman Gleason Fournier from Fehérvár AV19 and netminder Mac Carruth from Herning Blue Fox.