The NHL on Sunday released the lists of players who had been protected or were left available by their respective teams for the draft that will stock the Vegas Golden Knights, the league’s 31st franchise. First- and second-year pros were exempt from the draft and do not count toward each team’s total of protected players. They protected forwards Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli, defensemen Drew Doughty, Derek Forbort, Alec Martinez and Jake Muzzin, and goalie Jonathan Quick. In addition to Brown and Gaborik, they left available defenseman Brayden McNabb and forwards Andy Andreoff, Trevor Lewis, Jordan Nolan, Kyle Clifford, Nic Dowd and Nick Shore, among others. The Ducks protected seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie.

Source: Los Angeles Times June 18, 2017 15:22 UTC