Islanders Select 3rd Jersey: The Fisherman is Dead!

The Islanders have selected their third jersey. The selection was made by Islanders fans, who were allowed to vote on the alternative jersey. The jersey will be worn for select games during the 2027-2028 season. Next season, there will be a league-directed third jersey for all teams. The voting was set up like an 8-team tournament, with a bracket and everything. Fans were kept apprised of the voting results.

There were 80,000+ votes in the third jersey contest. The blue lighthouse jersey beat the cream-colored “islanders” script design. Of note, the lighthouse design beat the jersey choice with the fisherman on it in the semifinals. Do you believe that was the ugliest jersey in sports?

Islander Select Third Jersey Alternative

The New York Islanders selected their third jersey alternative for the 2027-8 season from eight alternatives in a fan vote. This is the first time the team has allowed fans to vote on jersey alternatives. The Islanders join 24 other teams in the National Hockey League with a third jersey. They were one of the few teams that allowed fans to vote on a jersey choice, and thus they turned a money-making gimmick into a fan-friendly exercise.

Third jerseys, and the like, are money-making gimmicks because they represent another alternative for fans of the team to buy. In this case, however, this case the Islanders turned the selection into a fan-friendly exercise. They got an overwhelming response, with tens of thousands of people weighing in.

There were eight alternatives set up in a choice-vs. choice eight-jersey competition. The fans voted in the competition in the middle of August 2026. The team announced the winner at 5 pm on August twentieth, with a reveal from star Mat Barzal.

We Want Fishsticks!

There were two of the eight alternatives in the vote with the fisherman on it. One of the choices was defeated in the first round, and one was defeated in the semifinals. This is good, as that jersey choice recalls one of the most embarrassing jersey choices in sports history. It is rumored the fisherman will make a comeback next season in the league-directed third jersey reveal.

The embarrassing episode took place on June 22, 1995. The team announced a new jersey type to replace the standing crest. The team had won four Stanley Cups with that beloved crest. However, the Islanders, which were terrible around then, replaced the jersey with the new logo in the hope that the team would turn around and increase jersey sales.

Instead, the jerseys were roundly mocked, with fans at home chanting, “we want fish sticks!” The jerseys were retired following the 1996-7 season. However, they made a comeback for the 2022 season.

The fisherman jersey appeared around the same time as John Spano tried to buy the team. To make a long story short, he tried to buy the team in 1996. However, he did not have the money needed, though he successfully pretended to have it for a time. He was eventually found out and was thrown in jail for fraud. He was sentenced to ten years in jail.

Conclusion

So, the Islanders will have a third jersey in 2027-8. The nice thing about this is that fans got to vote on the jersey choices, taking what could be perceived as an attempt to increase jersey sales into a fan-friendly experience. The team wearing the third jersey will be the team with more than $40 million in salary cap space and should be the team promoting several excellent prospects.