The New York Islanders “fisherman” logo was a failed experiment to rebrand for the 1995-96 season and, while the jerseys lasted until 1998, the logo was mercifully killed off after two seasons. The fisherman almost didn’t even last that long as the team rotated the logo with a re-colored version of their original crest throughout the 1996-97 season, much like how the current Islanders rotate between the Barclays Center and NYCB Live.
The fisherman conversation was most recently brought up when the Islanders were seen to be one of the NHL teams on a leaked list of supposed third jerseys for 19 teams going into year two of the Adidas takeover. At the same time, the team was preparing a comeback to Long Island, scheduling some home games at NYCB Live, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
With a throwback mentality surrounding the team, some people assumed that a throwback jersey was on its way. With the team currently wearing a uniform similar to that of the dynasty years, the fisherman came up as an option. Luckily, it never came to fruition.
When it was first introduced, the fisherman was a complete rebrand for a team that was struggling to find its identity. The dynasty was beginning to fade from memory, their most recent playoff appearance was a quick sweep to the rival New York Rangers and the team was losing money and fan interest. The team was also bottom three in the league in merchandise sales.
Since the team was short on cash, the cheapest way to make a change was to rebrand. Unfortunately, the rebrand was rushed and it turned into a disaster.
First, the logo. The fisherman that stood in the middle drew a strong resemblance to Gorton’s Fisherman, the mascot for a company that was best known for its frozen fish sticks. This almost immediate comparison led to the logo and uniforms being called “fish sticks.”
With the new logo and uniforms, the Islanders introduced a 7-foot tall fisherman as their mascot, complete with a red goal light on top of his head. Dubbed “Nyisles,” the mascot was even worse than the uniforms, being subjected to abuse by fans at every game. He, too, did not last.

Once the Islanders rebranded back to their original logo with new uniforms that looked much more like those of the dynasty years, the fisherman was thrown into a closet and forgotten. Until now.
The new generation of Islanders fans, many of whom were infants or not even alive when the original rebrand happened, have become fascinated with it. The branding is different and unique, yes, but it really is not something that the team should bring back.
It is a stain on the team. It is a stain on Long Island. It is a stain on everyone who was involved in pushing it forward.
The fisherman was a complete failure and bringing it back now would just revive the mocking chants of “fishsticks” from opposing fanbases.
Call it fisherman, call it fish sticks, call it whatever you want but never, ever, bring it back.