Gene Principe explains why he looked so sunburnt on Edmonton Oilers broadcast
It looked like Edmonton Oilers beat reporter enjoyed the Florida sun just a bit too much before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The veteran Sportsnet broadcaster was once again on TV screens across Canada to do the introduction to the game on Monday night. Principe was his usual goofy self, but there was a slight change to his presentation: he looked either very well tanned (or very sunburnt).
Fans took to social media to comment on Principe’s superb tan, with one going as far as saying that the longtime Oilers reporter looked like he had survived a nuclear blast.
did gene just survive a nuclear blast pic.twitter.com/k06mN9l4V3
— kailermemeamoto (@KailerMemeamoto) June 9, 2025
One would assume Gene may have accidentally fallen asleep on the beach to achieve a sunburn like this, but that wasn’t the case. Principe appeared on Tuesday morning’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas, where he explained why he looked the way he did.
He was doing all he could to protect his skin from the sun.
“I know people don’t believe me, but I usually buy 30 or 50 [SPF sunscreen],” Principe explained. “I do spend a lot of time in the sun, but I do, mainly and mostly, protect my skin with my increasing age.
“I don’t know if it’s cause I’m Italian, but I just end up looking like this.”
When Gene saw how he looked on TV, it caught him off guard. It was only after the broadcast that he saw all the people reacting to his sunburn that he figured it out.
Of course, Edmonton’s resident pun master had some fun with it, sending a photo of a very sunburnt Kramer from the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld in his work chat with other Sportsnet employees.
It seems Oilers fans had the same picture in mind when they saw him on the broadcast.
“I sent the Kramer,” Principe laughed. “When you’re on TV, you’re not often looking at yourself on TV. And then when that was sent, I was like ‘Do I look like that?’ and apparently I do.”
Live look at Gene Principe @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/bpjbHsUGgA
— Pat Horan (@BucHorno) June 10, 2025
Principe will have to survive the Florida sun for a few more days as Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final is set to go in the Sunshine State this Thursday. Luckily for him, the weather seems to be cooperating to help his burn go down a little bit.
“It’s supposed to rain much of Wednesday and Thursday,” Principe said. “So that might help tone this whole thing down.”