We can debate all day how much the NHL, Vegas Golden Knights and others involved really want to do this, but they’re making the right choice with the expansion draft nonetheless. The league will make protected and available players lists available at the same time they’re shared with teams, according to NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika.
(The NHL tweeted out as much, too.)
Could this lead to feelings being hurt or perhaps even certain sneaky deals being scuttled? Perhaps, but those are headaches that management should be expected to absorb.
The bottom line is that an expansion draft is a dream come true for armchair GMs, rumor enthusiasts, fantasy sports fans and ... really, just about anyone interested in hockey. It would be a bewildering decision to try to keep all of this information locked down, even for a league that frequently garners a reputation for choosing comfort over entertainment value.
also noteworthy, some GMs happy with this development because they wanted to make sure they saw other teams' protected list
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 29, 2017
Cotsonika reports that such lists will probably be made available on June 18, though that isn’t set in stone. NHL.com’s Dan Rosen also backs this up as a possible date.
(If you’re the type to take off work if a trade deadline was exciting, you might want to start drumming up excuses/putting aside vacation time/practicing your best “I’m sick” voice just in case ...)
Cap Friendly provides a handy timeline for the expansion draft process:
NHL announced it will make the protected lists for Expansion draft public, most likely at some point after the June 17 at 5:00pm deadline. https://t.co/ldw9ByZqLS
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) March 29, 2017