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Will NY Islanders change logo, colors for Brooklyn move?

Greg Wyshynski

Charles Wang is the owner of the New York Islanders, but he’s also a prophet.

Back in Oct. 2012, when everyone had the Isles pegged as a conference also-ran, Wang told Sirius XM Radio that they’d make the postseason:

"Yes, we're going to make the playoffs. We should have even done it last year, but we didn't. And we're disappointed. We're going to make the playoffs and we're going to have a great run."

So sayeth the Prophet Wang.

With the Islanders poised for their first playoff appearance since 2007, the future is brighter now than perhaps at any time since Wang took over as majority owner in 2004. Mostly because the Isles have been a [expletive] sideshow for the majority of those years – the Mike Milbury error, the Neil Smith mess, the Yashin buyout and the DiPietro contract – but also because budding superstar John Tavares and the pending move to Brooklyn are going to make the Isles a franchise to respect again.

Wang spoke with Chris Botta of Sports Business Daily on Thursday and said that move to Brooklyn could be coming sooner than the 2015 season:

Charles Wang says at #sbjsff that if Nassau and Barclays execs work out a deal, he'd welcome taking #Isles to Brooklyn in '14.

— Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL) April 18, 2013

Whenever they leave, the Islanders face a decision on their identity when they relocate to Brooklyn. Will they re-brand the team, or will they keep “Islanders” as the Nets kept their name after leaving New Jersey? Will they change their iconic crest, or will the logo remain the same? (We’d also accept a move back to the Gorton’s Fisherman logo, of course.) Brett Yormack, CEO of the Nets and Barclays Center, told Botta that introducing the Islanders to a new audience might necessitate some changes in aesthetics:

While noting that 70 percent of the Islanders' 5,000 season-ticket holders have said they plan to retain their tickets in some form after the move, Yormark said, “At the same time, we need to introduce the sport and the game to a new fan base here in Brooklyn. How do you connect those dots? I think we're going to have to meet each other somewhere in the middle. The colors black and white are the new badge of honor in Brooklyn. The question is, Can we weave that into their color scheme, and create a connection to the fans here in Brooklyn?"

To that end, Wang told Botta:

That includes the color scheme, according to Botta.

What should the Islanders wear when they make their move? Their current, iconic jerseys? These stupid black lacrosse sweaters? Or should they adopt a sweet black and white look (like the LA Kings) to match the Nets?

There needs to be some nod to Brooklyn on the sweater. C'mon, Wang: You know you love this.