New York Islanders- Re-release of Infamous Fisherman Jersey
I know as soon as individuals see this jersey, they decide to get a heart attack and become a keyboard warrior if possible. The Islanders Fisherman jersey from the mid-90’s is one of the most polarizing uniforms in not just NHL history, but in the history of sports. Personally, as someone who loves when teams bring out something different, this is one of my all time favorites. I’ve never really understood why this design get so much flack as I have seen worse.
When analyzing why people hate this, the only logical reason I can think is because the franchise was a massive joke during this era. Obviously the notorious Mike Millbury was around when the franchise brought these out. The glory days of the 80’s were long gone and fans didn’t want to let them go. That’s why the redesign was so unpopular amongst most Long Island diehards. However, when just looking at the design and not taking into account on how bad the team was during this era, one might realize that it’s not that bad of a jersey.
Whether people want to except it or not, this is a jersey design that has etched it’s place into hockey history. It’s an all-time classic. The Islanders should bring this back for the Reverse Retro occasion. In 2021, New York brought out one of the laziest and worst jerseys for that years line. It was replicating the 1979-80 home uniform. However, all they did was flip the placements of the white and orange stripes and used the darkened shade of blue the Isles wore in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. To put it bluntly, I think this would be a way better idea to try and bring out than what they eventually came out with in 2021. I would appreciate the return of the Fisherman jersey very much and I’m sure I’m not alone.
New York Rangers- Red Edition of 90’s Lady Liberty Jersey
As stated multiple times over the course of these pieces, the Original Six franchises are a little bit difficult to come up with ideas for Reverse Retro uniforms. There is some merit to that statement when it comes to the New York Rangers. For a large majority of their existence, the Rangers have worn their classic diagonal blue “Rangers” jerseys. There has obviously been some alterations to the look as the years have gone on.
However, when it comes to other looks, the franchise in Broadway has had their collection of alternates and other default home and away looks. There are a few that immediately come to mind. The first distinctly different look is the uniform the team wore for two seasons in the late 70’s. However, I don’t think the team would go back to that look for this occasion. It was so short lived and it’s highly forgettable. Then there is the Heritage alternate that they wore from 2010-17.
But when it comes to discussing alternative looks that the Rangers have worn, I think the collective can say the Lady Liberty jersey the team wore from 1996-07, was the best ever. Even for non-Ranger fans, like myself, I can say that this look is absolutely beautiful to look at. It for sure has it’s place as one of the greatest alternate jerseys in NHL history. In my opinion, this is the only right way to go for next years’ Reverse Retro line.
Now in 2021, the Rangers ended up bringing these back. Even though it remained largely the same, keeping the navy blue, there were some slight alterations that were made. They came up with a different striping pattern and had no white on the numbers. For this time around, I would love to see this design brought back once again. However, I would love to see this in primarily red. If they end up doing so, it would be the first time in franchise history that the Rangers would skate on the ice with a primarily red jersey. A simple color swap and placements of the navy blue and red will go a long way in making the alternate feel brand new, especially since the Lady Liberty is being used once again. I think it would be a massive win from an aesthetic point of view. And like said earlier, the Rangers don’t really have more appealing jerseys to wear for Reverse Retro than this one.
