Islanders unveil new alternate jerseys ... and they're terrible
It's official: This is the new alternate jersey the New York Islanders will wear to commemorate their move to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Safe to say the simplicity of this black-and-white-and-nothing-else design will appeal to some fans ... but others are gonna hate it.
As leaks earlier this month revealed, the NY logo has been revised, with the stick shortened so the two letters are more proportional to one another, and the island has been dumped. It's a look that draws from the team's Stadium Series jerseys that debuted in 2014, minus the “chrome." But where that effect added some pop to those special-event sweaters, there's nothing else to draw the eye here. The only hint of color to be found is the orange of the four “tape” stripes on the stick, which represents the team's four championships.
Islanders.com
For this year at least, they'll also bear inaugural season patches on the right shoulder to commemorate the team's first year in Brooklyn. On the left shoulder, the Islanders will recognize the team's late coach, Al Arbour, with a black-and-white “AL” patch.
Beyond that, there's subtle white striping on the arms and thick white stripes on the hem and cuffs of the jersey, with a white accent on the neckline. Those elements, taken alone, offer some minimalist appeal that harkens back to simpler designs of a century ago. But used on concert with the white logo, well, there's just not much there.
On the plus side is the bold use of the new logo on the pants. And hey, at least this look is better than the last time the Isles went with black.
The two-tone look seems to have gone over well with fans of their Barclays buddies, the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. We'll see if Isles fans feel the same way.