January 1996, Bob McNamara, former IHL goaltender and assistant general manager of the Cleveland Lumberjacks, was appointed general manager of the Griffins. His first move was to hire Dave Allison, who had briefly coached the Ottawa Senators that season, as head coach. Among the first players to join the team were defensemen Todd Nelson and Travis Richards and goaltender Pokey Reddick, all of whom brought National Hockey League (NHL) experience. On the business side, the Griffins secured a deal with WOOD-AM to broadcast all regular season and playoff games in their inaugural season. Rich Kincaide then left his sportscaster position at WJR in Detroit to become the Griffins' play-by-play announcer and director of communications. The team also signed agreements with WZZM and WWMT to televise a handful of games each. Following lengthy negotiations with the City of Grand Rapids, a DeVos-owned company took over operations of Belknap Ice Arena, which was then renovated for use as the Griffins' practice facility. Independent years (1996–99) McNamara filled the Griffins' 1996–97 inaugural season roster with IHL and AHL veterans (notably Michel Picard, Jeff Nelson and Don McSween) and a handful of prospects. He also signed affiliation agreements with the Muskegon Fury of the Colonial Hockey League (CHL) and the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL. The Griffins won their inaugural game on the road against the Indianapolis Ice, but lost the home opener to the Orlando Solar Bears six days later. An early-season record of 9–10–2 improved after the addition of Pavol Demitra, who was acquired in a trade with the Las Vegas Thunder in late November, and NHL veteran Danton Cole, who signed with the team after a stint in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). The Griffins were paced by the top forward line of Picard, Jeff Nelson and Demitra; all three averaged over one point per game during the regular season. Demitra left the Griffins in March 1997 after signing a contract with the St. Louis Blues, and scored over 300 goals in sixteen NHL seasons. He was replaced on the first line by rookie Kevyn Adams, who went on to play in ten NHL seasons. Grand Rapids finished in last place in a strong Northeast Division with a record of 40–30–12; the team's opening round playoff series with Orlando ended in a 3–2 loss. Picard was voted a first-team all star by the league's coaches after finishing fourth in