The Chilliwack Bruins of the major junior Western Hockey League relocated to become the Victoria Royals and the two teams could not simultaneously operate.

When the private-sector partner, RG Properties, was unable to secure a WHL club, the company bought the franchise rights to the defunct Baton Rouge Kingfish of the minor professional ECHL and announced that Victoria's new team would be named the Salmon Kings to mixed reactions.

The acquisition of the franchise meant that construction of the new arena could begin, but many were troubled by the perception that they would be receiving hockey that was inferior to the major junior WHL.

As the 2004–05 NHL lockout continued, Dale Purinton and Dan Blackburn of the New York Rangers and Mark Smith of the San Jose Sharks played for the Salmon Kings.

Purinton, an enforcer, was suspended twice by the league, the first for a career-ending check into the boards of Condors player Krzysztof Wieckowski and the second for returning to the ice to fight after being ejected during a bench-clearing brawl involving the Kings and the Falcons.

The Salmon Kings finally played their first home game on December 5, 2004, at Bear Mountain Arena, losing 4–3 in overtime.

After another losing season in 2005–06, during which the team had four different coaches behind the bench, the Salmon Kings became the ECHL affiliate of the nearby Vancouver Canucks.

Under head coach, Mark Morrison, the Salmon Kings would finish with a nine-game winning streak for an overall record of 36–32–1–3, good enough for seventh place in the National Conference.

The 2008–09 season started with head coach Mark Morrison adding the general manager's title to his position with the organization.

The goaltending in the middle of season would see Glenn Fisher, along with three Abbotsford Heat netminders – David Shantz, Matt Keetley, and Leland Irving rotating starts, while Chad Painchaud, Olivier Latendresse and Wes Goldie led the offensive attack during the stretch run.

After the All-Star break, the Salmon Kings' hot streak would come to an end when the team encountered several injuries and call-ups in the second half of the season.

The Salmon Kings would complete the season with a 10–17–0–2 run and barely made the playoffs, finishing with a 34–32–4–2 overall record and placing seventh in the National Conference standings.

During this season, Chad Painchaud and Jimmy Sharrow broke a five-year-old club record by scoring points in 14 and 12 straight games respectively.