There was more than a brief moment of joy for Islanders fans like myself yesterday when it was announced the infamous “Fisherman” logo would be returning…but not for the NHL Islanders. It will be the new logo for the Isles’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders.
For those not familiar with the much-maligned “Fisherman” sweater, it was introduced back in the 1995-96 NHL season (and was the first new logo ever to grace an Islanders jersey) and immediately panned by most fans and players.
The combination of navy, orange and teal, on a wavy lined jersey, screamed mid-’90’s design aesthetic. The Islanders were terrible then (and their owner was on his way to jail), and the new uniforms and particularly the design were partially blamed for the team’s failures. The team would ditch the logo the next season, but the damage had been done. The rear of those jerseys also featured the wavy design, and the numbers followed suit.
Paul often said that some of the worst jerseys/logos make the best membership card designs, and I proudly chose the fisherman for mine.
But the logo, by itself, was fine. The Isles even revived it a couple years back as part of their “Reverse Retro” uniform.
Now the logo will be back, on a full-time basis, for the Isles’ minor league team, the Bridgeport Islanders. And how else would you introduce a new logo other than a hype video? The team used their schedule announcement to share the news of the Fisherman’s return.
In the heart of the Sound, a new chapter unfolds for the Bridgeport Islanders. pic.twitter.com/QFEEhzOcDm
— Bridgeport Islanders (@AHLIslanders) July 11, 2024
It should be noted the Bridgeport version is not quite the same as the original. This logo is based on the modernized version which appeared on the Isles’ Reverse Retro sweaters during the 2022-23 season. The main difference is that this version has “BRIDGEPORT” written over the Islanders logo.
The team released a couple cropped photos of the logo as it will appear on their white and dark jerseys.
It may not be the parent club bringing the logo back to the NHL, but that’s probably a good thing. While beloved by many (it’s one of those “it’s so bad it’s good” kind of logos), it was equally reviled by many hardcore Islanders fans. But if you’re a fan of the logo and of minor league hockey, you can check out its rebirth with the Bridgeport squad. Here’s their 2024-25 schedule.
So, dear readers: what did you think of the Fisherman when it was introduced in the mid-1990s? Did you like it (or hate it) and were you happy it was brought back, if only temporarily, for the RR program? I never liked the Isles 1995-96 jerseys, but I did like the logo. I’m pleased it’ll be back, at least for the AHL affiliate.
I don’t like the design, but the colours are almost perfect – the grey is a bit unnecessary.
One of the comments I saw about the logo mentioned it is perfectly suited for an AHL team and I agree, it just works so well in this manner. Plus it’s an upgrade over Bridgeport’s previous logo with a hockey stick forming part of an uppercase B
They’re forever the Sound Tigers to me, great logo there, never should have changed. But if Lou Lamoriello must have his AHL team name be the same, sure let them have the goofy logo. Have some fun, take a chance, make the fisherman wear a fireman outfit for the inevitable first responders’ night special jersey…yeah sure thumbs up from me
Islanders fan here, agree with all of this. So silly that the Bridgeport team is called the Islanders now, Bridgeport isn’t on an island!
I also agree. The Sound Tigers was a much better identity.
I actually loved the fisherman logo itself, and the color scheme the Iles used. I did not like the wavy nature of the stripes and numbers. Had those been more “traditional/normal” I think the sweaters on the whole would have been great. The logo does remind me of the Gorton’s Fisherman, but so what?
I still think of those uniforms as sea sickness-inducing.
I absolutely loved the Gordens Fisherman jersey, I loved everything about it: the logo, the crazy stripes, the funky numbers… It was 90’s perfection! My only misgiving was I didn’t buy one at the time. Back then you could order authentic customizable CCM NHL jerseys from ads in the back of The Hockey News for around $150.
Try the team store, Isles Lab. When the Reverse Retro 2.0 came out, the store was open all day at UBS. I was able to pick it up, along with a Fantatics Vintage 90’s white wave jersey, with the traditional logo, customized with Palffy 16, for under $200. Logo on the front was the cheap Fanatics kind, but the numbers were triple layer, hand stitched, and heat pressed to the jersey. Fanatics had sold the navy fisherman jersey as part of their Vintage line for years, but this is the only place I’ve seen a white wave jersey with either logo on the front.
I was a freshman in high school that year, and I wanted the navy jersey SO BAD! I lived in California, and had probably not watched more than a few Isles games in my life at the time, but these jerseys were everything that young me loved, non-traditional stripes, a cool new color scheme, and a logo that would be WAY more fun to draw than the previous version.
These, along with the Avs and original Panthers and Mighty Ducks jerseys were my favorites of the era, and still give me a warm nostalgic feel!
As a French sport fan mainly following Japanese J.League and the NBA, I actually discovered the logo, design and story of that Islanders’ rebranding a few months ago… and I love it ! Of course I understand why long time fans hated it when it was released, but I find the navy-teal-orange-grey color combination quite nice and the logo appealing (then again, I’m quite fond of the NBA cartoonish era of the 90s which I grew up with). I actually looked into getting a fisherman jersey but the prices are quite high now. So what I did is I redesigning it to produce my own version, and to avoid any copyright issue, I replaced the fisherman with a duck and called the team the Islanducks (I like ducks). :p if you wanna see the result I’ll be glad to show it.
The wavy pattern was unnecessary, but the logo was solid and the new color scheme was fine. Hockey uniforms billow as the players move. Had the stripes all been horizontal (or better yet, applied to the classic Islanders template) they could have squeezed a decade or so out of the new look.
I’ve always loved the fisherman logo, though I’ve also always disliked the bigger-letter I and S in the original lettering. The updated throwback, and now the Bridgeport version, fixed that. I look forward to seeing photos and highlights of the Bridgeport sweaters in action!
I was a fan of the fisherman when it came out, especially the wave pattern and distorted name and number – cool stuff. I also like the colour scheme of navy, orange, teal, and gray. For years the water bottle I used when I played goal, that resided on top of the net, had the fishman logo. I picked it up cheap out of a discount bin because nobody wanted it.
Elephant in the room surprisingly not addressed: Bridgeport, CT is not an island. A peninsula, yes, but not an island.
Total disgrace!! I guess they want to hear we want fishsticks chant. How embarrassing for the organization. I’m surprised Lamoriello would allow this. Let’s hope it gets changed back.