Though the idea might have been a sound one, the finished product missed its moorings. And so you give them their own identity and say we had this period with the original logo, but we have some young players who we are excited about, we have some high draft picks and let's give them something that can be their own." After a while that wears on the young guys and messes with their psyche. So any new young forward who comes up is going to be the next Bob Nystrom or Clark Gillies or Bryan Trottier. "Also, which I really think is a big part of this, all of the young players of the 1990s were being compared to the dynasty players. "There was this thinking that fans were starting to associate the original Islanders logo with the failure of the past two seasons rather than the dynasty greatness," said Nick Hirshon, the author of "We Want Fish Sticks: The Bizarre and Infamous Rebranding of the New York Islanders." "Maybe some idea of getting a new product out there that would get you some money on the market, get some new jersey sales going and maybe that money could be funneled into improving the team and the arena. Islanders management felt change was needed to keep pace in the crowded New York sports marketplace. In that same season, the Islanders finished 25th of 26 teams in the NHL standings. The New Jersey Devils won the Cup the following season. The New York Rangers won the Cup in 1994, sweeping the Islanders in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs that season. The Islanders logo featured a map of Long Island as their jersey crest from the franchise's inception in 1972 through four Stanley Cup championships from 1980-83 and beyond.īut by the middle of the 1990s, the stars of the dynasty teams had retired or moved on, and the Islanders began to falter. When told by reporters that the Fisherman logo was being put out to sea in 1997, then-Islanders defenseman Darius Kasparaitis couldn't hide his feelings. That's a slightly different reaction than from those who wore the logo during its original run. "I got a couple for the kids right away when I saw them." 15, and forward Brock Nelson said he immediately placed an order. "You've seen a lot of fans at our games wearing them too. I think they look great," forward Zach Parise said of the new/old logo. Saturday was the first time the logo was worn in a game since April 12, 1997. But after player and fan vitriol, it was mothballed after two seasons. ![]() ![]() The Fisherman crest was part of an Islanders uniform redesign that was unveiled for the 1995-96 season. ![]() The New York Islanders brought back their long-lost logo when they debuted their latest Reverse Retro jerseys against the Carolina Hurricanes at UBS Arena on Saturday.
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