The Henderson Silver Knights are a relatively new team in the AHL, but the franchise itself has existed since 1971. They began as the Tidewater Wings, owned and operated by the Detroit Red Wings as their AHL affiliate, rebranding a season later to the Virginia Wings until 1975.
They were then inactive for two seasons before being moved to New York to operate as the Adirondack Red Wings. Between 1979 and 1999 they played their home games in Glen Falls, NY, before the Red Wings suspended operations, replacing them with an AHL franchise closer to home in the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Red Wings remained dormant until 2002, when they were bought and relocated to Texas to become the San Antonio Rampage.
In 2020, the newest NHL team on the scene, the Vegas Golden Knights, purchased the Rampage and relocated them to Henderson, NV to serve as their team owned and operated AHL affiliate.
In their first season in Henderson, they finished first in the Pacific and made it to the finals of the Pacific Division playoff tournament, as there were no Calder Cup Playoffs that season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have not yet won the Calder Cup as the Silver Knights or the San Antonio Rampage, but as the Adirondack Red Wings the franchise won four Calder Cups in 1981, 1986, 1989 and 1992.
In the 2022-23 season they had a record of 29-38-0-5. They finished 9th in the Pacific Divison and did not make the playoffs.
Their current head coach is Ryan Craig, their GM is Tim Speltz and they play out of the Dollar Loan Center.
Notable former Silver Knights include Logan Thompson, Cody Glass and Derrick Pouliot.