Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final featured one of the world’s biggest superstars in attendance. After the Edmonton Oilers learned of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s surprise appearance, they couldn’t resist posting a hilarious tweet—which quickly went viral.
For hockey fans, there’s nothing more exciting than the Stanley Cup Final. But there was an extra buzz surrounding Game 4 in Florida, with the Panthers looking to take a 3–1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers. Not long before puck drop, word got out that pop icon Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce, had decided to make a surprise appearance at Amerant Bank Arena.
According to ESPN senior writer Greg Wyshynski, the couple arrived by helicopter near the arena, and the team went to great lengths to secure their privacy.
“The VIP entrance has been closed to the public, as are the elevators to the press box,” Wyshynski said in a post on X.
Edmonton Oilers’ funny words
Before and during the game, cameras repeatedly caught Swift and Kelce watching from a private suite. During the third period, they were even joined by none other than Wayne Gretzky—the greatest player in hockey history.
Of course, the Edmonton Oilers couldn’t let the moment pass without posting something about the superstar presence. As soon as they realized Swift was in the building, they shared a hilarious post on X (formerly Twitter): a throwback photo from 2013 of Swift and Oilers forward Jeff Skinner, back when he played for the Carolina Hurricanes. In the photo, Skinner is handing her a signed jersey during a meet-and-greet.
Before Game 4 on Thursday, the Oilers captioned the post: “She heard Jeff was in”—a nod to Skinner returning to the lineup after being out since May 29 due to injury.
The Skinner Swift story
The post quickly went viral, with fans loving the humor. A few years ago, Jeff Skinner shared the story behind that photo—and how, during the meet-and-greet arranged by the Hurricanes and Swift’s PR teams, she had absolutely no idea who he was.
“I got in the back of the line so that I could give her the jersey,” Skinner said.
“It was a meet-and-greet line with, like, radio contest winners and 12-year-old girls, all excited to see Taylor Swift. And I was at the back, with the jersey.
“When I got up to meet her, I handed her the jersey—it had already been signed by me—and she sort of looked at it, kind of surprised, and said, ‘Oh, do you want me to sign this for you?’
“And I was like, ‘Eh, I already signed it for you…’ I should’ve said, ‘Yeah, sign it, I’ll take it back.’ But she just said, ‘Oh,’ and then the team photographer took a picture.
“Then I gave her the jersey and walked out. She probably either threw it in the trash or fired the person who let me back there.”
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