Top Shelf – Islanders Daily 9/5/13

The Buffalo Sabres completed the longest, social media-iest, most drawn-out jersey reveal in the history of the NHL yesterday, finally tweeting a full picture of F Steve Ott wearing their new alternate threads, as seen here:

As pointed out by our own Chris Triantafilis (@christriants), Ott has the same look on his face former New York Islanders player Darius Kasparaitis was sporting when the widely panned “fisherman” jersey was debuted by the team. That is to say: calling it a “forced smile” would be putting it lightly.

Because it’s still the offseason and because people like me have nothing better to talk about until Isles rookie training camp starts tomorrow, there was plenty of reaction to the Sabres’ third uniform design, most of it negative. I’m not sure if that’s a product of social media—since if you look hard enough, you can always find negative commentary—or a product of a truly weak jersey design.

While I’m hesitant to place all of the blame on Buffalo’s design team…it’s difficult not to assign most of it to them. Considering all the hype surrounding the jersey’s debut and the fan base’s insistence on returning to the classic Sabres sweater, if only as an alternate design, the Sabres dropped the ball on this one.

(Really? Adding “BUFFALO” in 12-point font directly above the iconic logo like that? At least the fans will definitely know which team they’re rooting for now…)

Luckily for fans in Buffalo, this particular jersey won’t be making many appearances during the 2013-14 season. Isles fans can relate: their team’s current black third jersey is nothing special either.

-Mike (@MichaelWillhoft)

In Case You Missed It

Fresh New Look Coming to Eyes On Isles (Eyes On Isles)

New York Islanders Debut New Slogan (Eyes On Isles)

An Islanders Chat With Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek (WFAN)

2013-14 Season Preview: Intangibles (Isles Talk)

Where’s Middle Ground in Nazem Kadri’s Contract Talks With Toronto Maple Leafs (Bleacher Report)

Lundqvist’s Legacy Will Ultimately Be Measured By Richter’s Ruler (WFAN)

Edmonton Oilers Hope They Can Put an End to Ales Hemsky Rumors; Can They? (Edmonton Journal)

Two Minutes For Tweeting

We’re one month away from the Islanders’ return to game action at the Coliseum, where they’ll take on the Columbus Blue Jackets and fans are already counting down the days. (To be honest, that countdown probably started back in June.)

So-called “experts” were way off in their preseason predictions for the Isles in last year’s lockout-shortened campaign. Something tells me the Isles will get a little more respect this time around, considering how they outperformed expectations last season.

Stop by the NHL Team Store in the city today at 3:00 p.m. for a chance to see Matt Moulson in a Q&A session. He’ll be in attendance with some guy named Patrick Sharp, whoever that is…

Bridgeport Sound Tigers F John Persson is certainly looking forward to Isles training camp, as are the fans who are eager to see what he and the other prospects can do beginning this weekend at the Coliseum.

The future Islanders captain improves the level of play of his linemates in a way few other centermen in the NHL can. Since Brad Boyes is still without a contract, it seems that GMs are aware of how big of an impact John Tavares had on his stats from last season.

As always, thanks for reading us at EyesOnIsles. Keep it right here for all of your NHL coverage and up-to-the-minute Islanders news. Be sure to check the menu bar at the top of the page for ways to connect with the EyesOnIsles staff; we’re always happy to talk hockey.