NHL star reveals reason he feared Taylor Swift had cursed his career (2025)

Edmonton Oilers player Jeff Skinner has made the playoffs for the first time in his 15-year career - and some believe that signals the end of a Taylor Swift 'curse.'

Skinner attended a meet-and-great at Swift's Red Tour in 2013, with the pair posing for a photo as the NHL star held up a Carolina Hurricanes jersey signed by him.

But there was a 'miscommunication' between the pair.

'Honestly, I don't think she wanted or knew that that jersey was coming,' Skinner told SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross on Thursday.

'The short version is that she thought that I wanted her to sign the jersey for me. And I was there under the impression that I was supposed to give her this jersey and I'd already signed it.

'So it's a bit of a miscommunication there, so I don't know know if the curse would've applied. Yeah I guess, I mean - hopefully there's no curse.'

The Swift-Skinner 'curse' has been a long-running joke in the NHL community, and it's not the first time that the pop star has allegedly impacted a hockey team.

The singer earned the ire of LA Kings fans after a banner commemorating her record number of sold out shows was installed in their arena (then called the Staples Center) in 2015.

The team won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014 and made it to the conference finals in 2013.

But after the banner went up, the team went six straight years without winning a playoff series from 2015-20.

The banner was removed in 2020 after repeated complaints from fans.

Swift, asYahoo! Sportspointed out at the time of the original Swift-Skinner photo, also promoted the Nashville Predators third jerseys in 2009. The team lost in the first round of the playoffs that year.

Ultimately, while Skinner said it was a 'missed opportunity' not to have Swift sign the jersey and take it for himself, he's finally in the postseason after the Oilers went 48-29-5 this year.

Buccigross concluded the interview with a fitting send-off for a Swiftie.

'There's no more 'Blank Space' next to your postseason record now. You are in the postseason. No more 'Cruel Summers', you 'Shake it Off' and go on.'

Skinner, a first round-pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, spent the first eight years of his career with the Hurricanes before spending the next six with the Buffalo Sabres.

The Oilers and Kings will began their first-round series on Monday at 10pm ET.

Taylor Swift

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