It was just another day for the most talked-about mascot in professional sports and the newly beloved icon of the left.

Wait, what?

Let’s back up. For decades, the Flyers were one of the few N.H.L. teams without a mascot. Team executives began to feel bereft during the 2016 and 2017 All-Star Games, where mascots like Iceburgh the penguin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Youppi of the Montreal Canadiens, competed in their own game. They decided last year to fill the role.

This July, the team asked Brian Allen, a concept artist in Bellefonte, Pa., to send them sketches. He said the Flyers’ art directors suggested a bulldog, a monster or “an amorphic creature” like the Phillie Phanatic — the furry, green, long-snouted mascot who represents Philadelphia’s baseball team.

“They wanted it to look like the Phillie Phanatic and him could come from the same weird family or go to the same family reunion,” Mr. Allen said. “They wanted it to be somebody you wanted to high-five, but not hug.”

Sarah Schwab, the Flyers’ director of marketing, said the team’s senior leadership reviewed two final options. “One was kind of a safer option, and one more — I don’t want to say unsafe — but one that kind of pushed the boundaries,” she said. “That was Gritty.”