Isles Will Not Wear Popular Third Jersey Full Time Next Year

Islanders Will Wear Third Jersey  For 15 Home Games Next Season

The Islanders’ jersey rotation next season “will be the same as this year,” barring a “last-second, long-shot, precedent-setting decision by the NHL,” according to league sources cited by Chris Botta of ISLANDERSPOINTBLANK.com. The team had “appealed to the league for approval to make this year’s Third Jersey their No. 1.” However, there were “too many hurdles with manufacturers and distributors -- and too little time.” The NHL’s merchandising division “requires teams to apply for a primary jersey change two full years before the switch.” The team will wear its third jerseys for “15 home games next season” (ISLANDERSPOINTBLANK.com, 3/15). YAHOO SPORTS’ Greg Wyshynski wrote, “What this boils down to is the League battling a team over its marketing desires and decisions. If this were MSG and the Dolans, we might be seeing a lawsuit; but the Islanders apparently will allow this process to play out and hope to have the retro jerseys adopted for 2010-11.” Wyshynski: "Shouldn't teams like the Islanders, who have their obvious marketing challenges and hurdles, have the right to push this sort of thing through the red tape if it's beneficial to the franchise? But the League knows who butters its bread. It's not the NHL Store Powered by the New York Islanders, after all" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/17).