Reports of a CHL team playing at the Coliseum for 2012-13 came as early as February, with initial reports stating they would be named the Denver Grizzlies, after the city's most recent IHL franchise which won the Turner Cup in its only season in the city and is widely credited for garnering enough interest to entice the Quebec Nordiques to relocate to Denver and become the Colorado Avalanche. However, once the team was officially announced on April 10, 2012, it was confirmed the team would not go by the "Denver Grizzlies" name because of unspecified copyright issues. Although the team had registered the "Denver Cutthroats" name with the city and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the name was still not officially announced, with the team holding a "Guess the Name" contest in the meantime. On May 17, 2012, the Cutthroats officially announced their name, logo, and color scheme. With the addition of the Cutthroats, the CHL aligned to the one Berry Conference. The Cutthroats opened the season in Denver against the Missouri Mavericks on October 19, marking the first hockey game in the Coliseum since 1989. The Cutthroats' first season saw them skate to 30 wins, and the 8th seed in the 2013 Ray Miron's President's Cup Playoffs. They faced the top seeded Allen Americans, and, after taking game 1, the Cutthroats lost 4 straight to lose the series 4-1. In the following 2013–14 season, a vastly improved Cutthroats team, with the help of CHL MVP Garett Bembridge, recorded 38 wins, and the 2nd seed in the Ray Miron's President's Cup Playoffs. The Cutthroats won their first playoff series in team history, defeating the Tulsa Oilers in 6 games before advancing to the finals after a 4-1 series win over the Arizona Sundogs. This marked the Cutthroats' first berth in the Ray Miron Cup Final in only their second year of existence. In the final, the Cutthroats once more faced the defending champions in the Allen Americans who had dispatched them a year earlier. After taking game 1, the Cutthroats again lost 4 straight games, allowing Allen to win back-to-back championships. After months of rumors, and speculation, on August 20, 2014, the Denver Cutthroats announced an immediate suspension of operations and elected for dormancy for the 2014–15 season. All players of the Cutthroats were rendered free agents, however the Cutthroats planned to seek additional investors to re-join the league for the 2015–16 season, an ambition made moot by the league itself folding a few months later.
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The Cutthroats were owned by Boulder resident John Hayes, CEO of Broomfield-based Ball Corp.. Former NHL player Derek Armstrong served as the Cutthroats' first head coach; although his NHL career had him playing for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues, he is best remembered in Denver for being a member of the Grizzlies' 1994-95 Turner Cup run. After their inaugural season, Armstrong was joined by former teammate and Cutthroat Brad Smyth as an assistant coach and assistant of hockey operations.
