There’s more sizzle regarding New Orleans hockey, but not a lot of steak.
Louisiana governor Jeff Landry and U.S. representative Steve Scalise at least went public in March to say they’d had a conference call with the league about bringing a team to the “Crescent City,” but there haven’t been a lot of details other than Landry taking to social media to talk about the perks.
“The economic impact would be substantial,” he wrote on Feb. 20, the day of the 4 Nations Face-Off title game between the U.S. and Canada, “and having the Stanley Cup in the Big Easy would be a win for all!”
The sport doesn’t have a significant history in the city beyond the ECHL’s New Orleans Brass, who played at the Municipal Auditorium and then the New Orleans Arena from 1997 to 2002. The Brass folded upon the arrival of the NBA franchise that became the New Orleans Pelicans, and a new NHL entrant would presumably share the 26-year-old arena, now known as Smoothie King Center, with the Pelicans.
That franchise has made the playoffs four times and won just one series in 12 seasons since becoming the Pelicans, and its average of 16,815 fans per game in 2024-25 was good for 25th in a 30-team league—doing little to suggest the city has anything beyond an NFL-centric fan base.
