Update — Islanders respond about third jerseys on Twitter:

@cordlehmanwkwz It is not true Cord. The #Isles will wear their black 3rd jerseys during the 2012-13 season.

— NYIslanders (@NYIslanders) May 10, 2012

THIRD JERSEYS TBD?
Last season, the Islanders’ black third jerseys were the worst kept secret on the internet. They debuted in mid-November but by then everyone knew what was coming. Puck Daddy originally found the jersey from a team employee’s blog and the outstanding hockey jersey blog Icethetics continued to follow the story as the jersey ominously showed up in pre-season catalogs.

Icethetics is back at it again, but this time it’s a bit more confusing. They recently got their hands on Reebok’s 2012 catalog that details jersey designs for all 30 teams. Fast forward to the Islanders page and there’s a big, bold “TBD” under where the third jersey should be. NHL/Reebok rules stipulate that a team must use its third jersey for three seasons before switching again. Of course there may be some ability to go around that because, as Icethetics points out, Chicago only used their third jersey for two years before dumping it.

It’s hard to tell what’s going on here. Maybe the Islanders are trashing the jersey? An overwhelming 73% of responders to our informal poll gave it a “fail.” Or maybe there was simply a snafu in publishing the catalog. Either way, there’s just not much more detail out there than our random speculation.

The Islanders did not respond to a request for comment.

MORE SPECULATION, LITTLE SUBSTANCE ON ARENA PLAN
In today’s Newsday, there is an article about the hub, and what might be happening and what might not but as usual, there’s really no substance to it. There are fuzzy quotes from Ed Mangano saying that he’s had interest from groups who would like to develop the hub (with public funds, mind you) like this:

The county has fielded recent inquiries from developers seeking to remake the 77-acre site around the aging Nassau Coliseum, home of the New York Islanders, although none have offered to do it without public money, Mangano said Wednesday.

Of course no one wants to pony up all the money on their own. And, of course, the article states that there’s been no movement since that lovely little planning meeting a few months ago.

Earlier this year Mangano pledged to offer a new vision for the area around the Coliseum, known as the Hub, after first meeting with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. But that meeting with Cuomo came and went without an announcement or a plan for the arena from Mangano.

And then there are copy and pasted paragraphs from every article like this one ever to extend the word count a bit and fill space.

The Islanders will play a preseason game at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn in October. Barclays officials have said they want the Islanders to play in Brooklyn permanently.

Other cities, including Quebec City, are also rumored to be interested in luring the team.

A county referendum to borrow $400 million for the construction of a new arena and minor league baseball stadium failed in August.

Much ado about nothing.