The Milwaukee Admirals head coach took his team to the AHL Western Conference Finals, but will Karl Taylor be moving to the NHL next season?

After a surprising regular season run in which he coached 42 different players, Milwaukee Admirals head coach Karl Taylor led his team to the brink of the Calder Cup Finals, losing in the Western Conference Finals to the Coachella Valley Firebirds. It was the deepest playoff run in nearly two decades for the Admirals. 

Taylor is no stranger to success behind the Milwaukee bench.

Last evening on The Big 920 (WOKY), Aaron Sims spoke to Karl Taylor and several of the Admirals players as they wrapped up their exit meetings for the 2022-2023 season. Even after what most teams in the AHL would considered a successful season, Taylor is still looking for ways to be better in his end of the season conversations with his players. 

"We asked them to be very honest," Taylor shared with Sims, "Because we always want to improve and we always want to push and find ways to treat them better. Find ways to challenge them more. Find ways to get our group to play better and to accomplish the final goal of winning the Calder Cup."

But will Taylor be in Milwaukee to chase the Calder Cup again next season?

It's a question that many in Nashville have wondered in recent seasons. There was an extra level of speculation as incoming Predators GM Barry Trotz evaluated the coaching staff in Nashville after the season. On May 31, Barry Trotz announced Andrew Brunette as the next head coach of the Predators and was open about the fact that Karl Taylor was one of three candidates that arose through his evaluation process. 

"He's a very good coach", Trotz said of Taylor. "I'm excited about what he's done in Milwaukee. I just didn't have as along a relationship [as with Brunette]."

Missing out on the head coaching position in Nashville doesn't mean that Karl Taylor won't be a coach in the NHL next season. There are not many head coaching positions open after Calgary named Ryan Huska their next bench boss, the Blue Jackets intend to name Mike Babcock, and the Rangers are rumored to be dialed in on Peter Laviolette, but Taylor may find himself offered an assistant coach position. 

In his conversation with Sims, Taylor acknowledged that his coaching future is a little uncertain right now. 

"Who know what's going to happen? You know, our whole staff has aspirations of hopefully coaching in the NHL one day. I have no idea when that's going to happen, but we'll see how we proceed and see what happens."

Nashville fans who have followed Taylor's success in Milwaukee would hate to lose him from the organization, but it is likely Taylor will have more coaching opportunities presented to him. What he was able to do in Milwaukee's regular season in which many of his staple players departed to fill in roster voids in Nashville and then form a cohesive and successful postseason team speaks volumes about his coaching ability. 

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