Before the NHL, Youppi! Already Changed Sports History

Long before orange fur became a fixture at the Bell Centre, Youppi! was already rewriting the rulebook on what a sports mascot could be. The Canadiens' iconic character has a backstory that predates his NHL arrival and shaped the entire landscape of mascot culture across professional sports. This is the kind of institutional knowledge that separates the Original Six franchises from everyone else - they understand that sometimes the most valuable assets aren't on the ice.