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NHL to reveal protected, available lists for Vegas expansion draft

Sean Leahy
·Contributing writer
LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 22: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (L) encourages people to boo him as majority owner Bill Foley looks on before the Vegas Golden Knights was announced as the name for Foley’s Las Vegas NHL franchise at T-Mobile Arena on November 22, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team will begin play in the 2017-18 season. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Sorry, NHL general managers, your pleas to Commissioner Bettman earlier this month to have the protected lists for June’s expansion draft kept secret have failed. The league announced on Wednesday afternoon that we will know exactly who will be protected and who will be available for George McPhee to select as he builds the first Vegas Golden Knights roster.

The Golden Knights will receive the lists of protected players by 5 p.m. on June 17, then they will submit their selections on June 20 by 5 p.m. ET. The picks will then be made public on June 21 as part of the televised NHL Awards show on Rogers and NBC Sports Network.

(It sounds like the protected and available lists will be made public on June 18.)

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As Vegas owner Bill Foley told our own Josh Cooper this week, everyone in the NHL talks, from GMs to team executives to media, so keeping the lists quiet wasn’t going to happen. Once teams sent in their lists there was bound to be leaks, making it an awkward few days for some players.

Foley prefers the lists be secret, mainly because it would make the roster announcement much more dramatic (Vegas, baby!). But Golden Knights fans knowing who McPhee will be able to select won’t spoil the party at T-Mobile Arena that night.

The second-to-last week in June is going to be incredibly busy with NHL news. Before we even reach the opening of free agency on July 1, there will be the Vegas expansion draft, a NHL Awards show, NHL Draft and the likely unveiling of the 2017-18 schedule, which could include an Olympic break, or maybe not. And hey, might as well throw in the grand Adidas jersey reveal for all 31 teams, too, right?

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!