Exclusive | Islanders fan-designed jersey contest whittled down to eight finalists after 80,000-plus entries

It’s sweater weather in an August heatwave.The Islanders whittled down the number of public-designed submissions for the team’s 2027 season alternate jerseys from 80,490 to eight – and a “March Madness-style fan vote” is on the way for what’s become a passion project for the players and staff alike. “We had (Matthew) Schaefer, (Bo) Horvat, (Kyle) Palmieri, (Ondrej) Palat, (Jean-Gabriel) Pageau, (ryan) Pulock, (Mathew) Barzal, (Alexander) Romanov all actively involved in this process,” Isles president of business operations Kelly Cheeseman told The Post. “Many other alumni reached out…[Bryan Trottier] and Matt Martin and some of those guys were actively involved in it.”The final eight designs include two of four logo styles: a lighthouse, a fisherman and the words “Isles” or spelled out “Islanders.”That is in addition to the “NY” hockey stick without the traditional backdrop of Long Island, which was featured on the team’s previous alternatives that were retired in 2024.One fisherman jersey is navy, similar to the Islanders 2022 reverse retro style, but includes teal trim instead of white.Its alternative is orange with a lighter shade of blue.The lighthouse designs follow suit, but its navy iteration has a noticeably electric teal drop shadow around the numbering. The “NY” options are either a navy with a white logo and trim or an orange jersey and blue “NY” logo.Both designs for the “Isles” and “Islanders” are navy, orange and cream white.The same two types of jersey crests, like fisherman vs.

fisherman, will be pitted against each other in a quarterfinal vote from Aug.12-14. Final four ballot boxes open from  Aug.

15-17, and then Aug.18-20 for the remaining two.“I had in my mind that 3,000 to 5,000 [entries] would be a home run, and 1,500 would be a success,” he said. “I definitely did not see this coming, and it’s just exciting.”Cheeseman added that the lighthouse logo, which was only worn as a...