1974 was the final year of operation for the WHL, however, Salt Lake was one of the teams that was still around to be absorbed by the Central Hockey League (CHL).

Despite losing the backing of their then-parent club (Minnesota North Stars), the team jumped to the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1984.

After winning the league championship in 1987, the Eagles signed an affiliation deal with the Calgary Flames and repeated their title run the following season.

Not willing to miss out on a ready market, a local group purchased the right to the Grizzlies name as well as a mothballed ECHL franchise and made sure that the E Center had ice hockey available for the 2005–06 season.

The Mustangs swiftly became one of the best teams in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL), finishing either second or first in their division for seven consecutive years.

After the WSHL went dormant during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mustangs left to join the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) and have continued their strong play.

This has resulted in Utah having a lower level of engagement (0.114% of its population is registered with USA Hockey) than most of its mountain-west neighbors.