The concept behind one of our zaniest covers in recent years was spelled out in the main headline: we never thought we’d put a mascot on the cover, but then along came Gritty, who took the hockey world by storm.
While mascots are traditionally loved by kids and perhaps tolerated by others, Gritty was a pop-culture phenomenon whose first forays on social media made him an instant hit around the league: “Sleep with one eye open tonight, bird,” he clapped back at the archrival Pittsburgh Penguins when they tried to mock him.
For the record, we had real conversations in the office as to whether we should put a mascot on the cover. After all, newsstand sales were still important, and we only have so many covers per year. But the story of Gritty was just too fun, and, years later, he’s still the mascot everyone in hockey is fascinated by – thanks to his anarchist tendencies and fuzzy visage.
THN Archives is an exclusive vault of 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until today. Visit the archives at THN.com/archives and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com