The New York Islanders becoming the first NHL team to allow fans to design an official jersey that the organization will wear during the 2027-28 season was a pretty neat idea.
There will undoubtedly be some who respond that the team should focus on improving the on-ice product instead.
The reality is that those two things are not mutually exclusive.
Mathieu Darche isn’t spending his summer sketching logos. Pete DeBoer isn’t debating jersey striping patterns. The people responsible for building a winner are still focused on doing so.
If anything, the contest exists because the organization can delegate the creative process to its fans while continuing to focus on hockey operations.
I kid... maybe.
But while the jersey itself is the headline today, the more interesting question is what the Islanders will look like when they finally wear it.