Nash Daily: Karl Taylor drawing NHL Interest, Green joins Devils

The NHL saw one major buyout come out of Vancouver as the Canucks opted to move on from defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

During his time as a Canuck he played in 133 games scoring 51 points. It came as a surprise and it sent a shock wave around the league. Ekman-Larsson’s buyout spans eight seasons which he’ll be owed $29 million.

While Vancouver is paying the bulk of the deal the Arizona Coyotes are set to pay 12 percent ($2.8 million) over the next eight seasons. By the end of the payout, Ekman-Larsson will be 40 years old.

The Coyotes also lose one of their three retained salary slots for the next eight years. A buyout effects the players original team as well. It results in a lost retained salary spot for the remainder of the payout.

No other buyouts have taken place so far, however, the buyout window closes on June 30 at 4 p.m. Whether the Nashville Predators will pull the trigger on one of their own moves has yet to be seen.

Restricted free agents have until June 30 at 4 p.m. to recieve a qualifying offer from their respective teams. Nashville is still mulling over some of their RFA’s before comitting to players like forward Cody Glass and defenseman Alexandre Carrier.

Nashville Hockey Now 

Eyes are on the Predators AHL head coach Karl Taylor as his name has comes up among NHL assistant coaching spots.

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed some assistant coaching candidates for the Toronto Maple Leafs on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. The comments come in around 31:40.

Whoever fills the role in Toronto takes the place of Spencer Carbery who joined the Washington Capitals as their next head coach.

Taylor’s success with the Milwaukee Admirals is noticeable posting a 158-90-40 record while making the playoffs three times. He’s coming off taking the Admirals to the Western Conference Final against the Coachella Valley Firebirds losing in six games.

Around the NHL and National Hockey Now

New Jersey Hockey Now: The next associate coach for the New Jersey Devils is set to be Travis Green.

Green replaces Brunette who spent one year behind New Jersey’s bench. Brunette was hired on May 31st by the Nashville Predators as their next head coach, replacing John Hynes.

Chicago Hockey Now: The presumed No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard was named the IIHF Male Player of the Year on Monday. It’s the inaugural award for the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Vegas Hockey Now: A new writer has come on the scene covering the Vegas Golden Knights. Chris Gawlik joins National Hockey Now and he went through some of the pending Golden Knights free agents this offseason.

Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter: @KieserNick

(Photo of Karl Taylor via the Milwaukee Admirals)