Montreal Canadiens mascot Youppi! is still standing among a tiny NHL group in the Mascots Hall of Fame after Vancouver Canucks mascot Fin fell short in the latest vote.
The Mascots Hall of Fame announced its class of 2026 on Friday, and only five of the 11 finalists earned induction. The group included the University of South Carolina’s Cocky, the Denver Broncos’ Miles, the University of Minnesota’s Goldy Gopher, the New York Mets’ Mrs.
Mets, and Brigham Young University’s Cosmo. Fin, despite a worldwide fan vote, did not make it.
That leaves the NHL with just three mascots in the Hall: the Chicago Blackhawks’ Tommy Hawk, who was part of the 2017 class; Youppi!, who went in during 2019; and the San Jose Sharks’ S.J. Sharky, inducted last year.
Youppi!’ s place there is no surprise.
The mascot has been with the Canadiens since 2005, but before that it spent 1979 to 2004 as the Montreal Expos’ mascot. It remains the only mascot to move from one professional league to another, and it was also the first mascot ever ejected from an MLB game.
That happened in 1989 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when manager Tommy Lasorda complained about the noise Youppi! was making in the visitors’ dugout and the mascot was tossed.
Since arriving in Montreal, Youppi! has become a fixture with younger fans and is a familiar presence for photos at Canadiens games.
This past season, the mascot also played a key role in the club’s tribute to Rodger Brulotte, the Expos’ play-by-play man who helped bring Youppi! to life, after Brulotte’s passing.
The Canadiens also introduced a second mascot in 2022, Metal!, as part of the marketing push for the second edition of the Retro Reverse NHL jersey. In October 2023, the team said Metal!
was retiring, but that did not stick. The power blue mascot still shows up from time to time and was part of the Canadiens’ pre-game ceremonies in the playoffs last season.
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