ESPN's Alan Hahn on Islanders fans' third jersey design with fisherman logo: Throw it back!
ESPN's Alan Hahn, a former Islanders beat writer for Newsday, is not a fan of the "fisherman" logo being among the finalists for the Islanders fans' jersey design contest Credit: New York Islanders; ESPN Images
When the Islanders revealed the eight finalists for their fan-designed third jersey for the 2027-28 NHL season on Tuesday, Alan Hahn of ESPN New York radio and MSG Network did a double take.
The fisherman logo was back on two of the submissions that fans are being asked to vote on by the team.
It seems unthinkable to some that one of the most despised logos in Islanders history could be making a comeback.
“I hope it doesn’t,” Hahn, a Long Island native and former Newsday Islanders beat writer, told Newsday on Tuesday night in a telephone interview. “It should’ve died years ago. I don’t know why it’s come back. I know everybody loves nostalgia, but this is not nostalgia. This logo was part of an era that almost killed this franchise and almost ended up with it leaving Long Island.”
The fisherman logo was added to the jersey for the 1995-96 season. It was not popular, largely because it resembled the logo of a popular frozen fish sticks brand. Two seasons later, it was killed by then-owner John Spano.
“I remember a quote, a direct quote from Darius Kasparaitis,” Hahn said. “John Spano didn’t do a lot of good things, but one thing he did do was answer the response from Islander fans back then in the 90s. I was there. He took that logo off the jersey and put the old crest back on. I remember this: One of the reporters told Darius Kasparaitis, ‘Hey, they’re going back to the old logo,’ and Darius’ direct quote was ‘Good. We look like idiots.’ So if he felt like that, how would current players feel if this is the third jersey that they’re wearing?”
The first round of voting for the new jersey opened on Wednesday at noon and ends on Friday at 5 p.m. at www.newyorkislanders.com/fanvote. The second round is Saturday to Monday and the final round Aug. 18-20.
The eight finalists were picked by a committee chosen by the Islanders from more than 80,000 submissions.
“Islanders fans have once again blown us away with their incredible creativity and the sheer volume of participation,” Kelly Cheeseman, president of business operations for the Islanders and UBS Arena, said in a statement.
In addition to two fisherman jerseys, there are two jerseys featuring lighthouses, two with “ISLANDERS” or “ISLES” across the chest and two with an “NY” logo with the “Y” depicted as a hockey stick.
“My favorite is the NY on its own in the navy blue,” Hahn said. “I love it because it’s classic. I love it because that NY with the hockey stick is the essence of the Islander logo.”
The winning entry will be announced in the following days, according to the team, and the creator of the overall winning design will receive a team-signed third jersey and tickets to the 2027-28 game in which the jersey will make its on-ice debut. The jersey cannot be used in the 2026-27 season because it takes two years to make an NHL jersey and get the design approved by the league.
Hahn was an intern with the Islanders when the original design for the fisherman logo was revealed.
“Me and another intern looked at each other going, ‘They’re not serious,’ ” Hahn said. “We couldn’t believe it. We really were like, ‘No, this is not really happening, right? Like, no way.’ ”
If enough fans vote for one of the fisherman designs, it could happen again.
“Oh, God help us,” Hahn said. “I worry about it. I really do.”
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
More Islanders
