Cheap Plugs and Third Jerseys

There's a bunch of stuff I've wanted to link to, but the opportunity never presented itself. So here goes.

 - Video Games. My first ever gig writing on the Internet was for a video game site. Almost seven years later, I'm still proud to be a part of the Die Hard GameFAN team. Here are links to my reviews of NHL 09 and 3 on 3 NHL Arcade. NHL 09 still rules; 3 on 3 NHL Arcade was fun, but extremely weak in terms of modes.

 - New Islanders Blogs. Four or five years ago, my friend Leslie barely even had a passing interest in hockey. Now, aside from yours truly, she's the biggest Islanders fan I know. Leslie stepped up to a half-season package this year and now has her own Islanders blog, The Lefty Stick. I'm pretty sure the title of this blog is a dig at me because I'm a lefty. Anyway, one of the people who sits in front of her at the Coliseum, a nice fellow named Brian, has started his own blog called Islanders Five Hole. I wholeheartedly welcome these two into the Islanders blogosphere and look forward to seeing their work develop in the future.

 - Guest Blogs. A few months ago, I had the privilege of guest blogging at Puck The Media, one of the better hockey blogs out there. I submitted two pieces as a guest. The first dealt with the excessive length of intermission breaks and how they could drive potential hockey fans away. The second is devoted to Islanders and Versus announcer and NHL Network personality Billy Jaffe, someone who should be one of the biggest names in hockey broadcasting in the coming years. Thanks again to Steve for letting me crash the place for one Friday in December.

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So, with that out of the way, the third jersey stuff.

I have a theory about hockey. And that theory is this - people in charge have no idea what they're doing. I'm sure you could say the same about a lot of things, especially the company you work for. But hockey is an especially alarming case. For example, take Glen Sather. He spent the second half of the 2003-04 season clearing bloated contracts in an attempt to rebuild his team correctly. After two fine seasons, what did Sather do? Perhaps unwittingly, Sather spent his team into the exact same hole they were in for the late 90s and the early part of this decade. Sather is far from the only fool, though. We don't need to tell you about the missteps of one Mike Milbury, who proved to be a horrible drafter despite having top picks for much of his tenure. Gary Bettman's impact is proven by the pockets of empty seats in NHL arenas throughout the United States.

We all know the league is run by idiots. But even when the league and its teams have the chance to do really good things, the ball is routinely dropped. Or, at the absolute best, the obvious choices need to be beaten into the heads of the oblivious. And third jerseys are what made this whole thing come full circle for me. During a recent Islanders telecast, Howie Rose mentioned that the Edmonton Oilers conducted a poll to see what kind of design fans would want to see on a potential third jersey. As just about anybody could have predicted, the fans overwhelmingly responded that they wanted to see the Oilers wear the same jerseys as they wore in the dynasty years. So, of course, that's what the Oilers went with. But that's not the point. You mean to tell me management couldn't figure this out on their own? That fans don't want to see the Oilers in some generic RBK Edge jersey with hideous piping and a shade of blue that looks more like black? You've got to be kidding me.

Look around the league, and you'll see retro designs are the best looks and biggest sellers among the third jerseys. This is particularly true among teams that haven't had much to write home about lately, but have great histories. The Sabres' third jerseys aren't perfect because the blue is too deep, but it's something. The Flyers' 70s-era jerseys look incredible; rumors suggest that the Flyers will begin wearing these full-time in the near future. The Blackhawks will certainly follow the Penguins' lead and wear their Winter Classic jerseys as third jerseys next year. And perhaps my favorite third jerseys in the NHL are those of the Los Angeles Kings, who managed to perfectly combine the Gretzky-era jerseys with the jerseys they currently wear.

All of this brings us back to the New York Islanders, who are currently wearing their retro third jerseys for this Saturday night game. The next time you watch an Islanders game, look closely at the logo at center ice. You might notice it's a little brighter than it used to be. That's because it was recently repainted to match the color scheme of the third jerseys. Chris Botta has mentioned that the Islanders are trying to get these third jerseys approved as their 2009-10 everyday jerseys. It might not happen in time, but the wheels are in motion, and for good reason. These jerseys are sharp, sell extremely well, and best of all, remind fans of the Cup years.

And that's exactly the point. For years, hardcore Islanders fans have been clamoring for a return to the shade of blue seen back in the 80s. For years, the brass at the Islanders have ignored the requests of their fans. Until now. And now that this new jersey is a cash cow, suddenly it's a great idea to make them the full-time uniforms, right? It's sickening.

It's common sense that if you do right by the fans and do right by your principles, you'll succeed. Fans want to be treated like people, not idiots who are going to shell out $140 on jerseys that say "BOLTS" and "SENS" across their chests. Fans want to remember what made them fans in the first place; for many fans, an old-school look is as good as it gets. Maybe if executives did more to remember who exactly they're working for, things in the NHL would be better than it is today.