Skip navigation

Canadiens adopt Youppi! as their mascot

Abandoned when Expos moved, mascot first in pro sports to switch leagues

CANADIENS MASCOT
Ian Barrett / AP
Montreal Canadiens new mascot Youppi! tapes up a hockey stick in the Canadiens dressing room on Friday. Youppi! was the Montreal Expos' mascot before the team moved to Washington, DC.
Special feature
Joe Sakic prepares for a face off with Pavel Datsyuk
NHL free agency
Top unrestricted players available

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
Russia v Canada
  Who's hot on Twitter?
Check out which of your favorite athletes have the best pages and most followers!

NBCSports.com

Special feature
Vancouver Canucks v Chicago Blackhawks - Game Four
Icy Hot
Check out the Ice Girls from around the National Hockey League.
  NHL on NBC
Stanley Cup Penguins Red Wings Hockey
AP

Penguins defeat Red Wings
to win third Stanley Cup
NHL on NBC coverage

updated 10:42 p.m. ET Sept. 19, 2005

MONTREAL - The Montreal Canadiens have hired former Expos mascot Youppi!

Youppi!, the Expos’ furry, orange mascot before the team relocated and became the Washington Nationals, is coming out of retirement to join one of the NHL’s most storied clubs.

Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey considered the mascot a good catch.

“With the Expos no longer in existence and him needing a home, I think the Montreal Canadians and Youppi! will fit nicely together,” Gainey said at a news conference as the mascot sported the team’s famous red jersey.

Youppi!’s last official event was Sept. 29, 2004, when the Expos played their final home game at the Olympic Stadium.

Ray Lalonde, the Canadiens marketing manager, said Youppi! is the first mascot in professional sports to move from one league to another.

Slide show: The Week in Sports Pictures
QUALLS GIPSON
  Oct. 3 - 9
Images from the baseball playoffs, NFL, college football, and more.
“We always wondered what Youppi! would look like in a Habs sweater.”

Youppi! will have his first faceoff against another team at the Bell Centre on Oct. 18 against the Boston Bruins.


advertisement | your ad here

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links