NHL to make protected, available players lists for Vegas expansion public

The NHL will make protected and available players lists for the upcoming expansion draft public as they are distributed to each NHL club, the league announced on Wednesday.

The date the lists are released is still to be determined, but it's likely to be on June 18, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.

For NHL fans it's a decision that is surely welcomed, but one that was certainly not easy for the league to come to, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.

As LeBrun notes, the NHL has held many internal discussions on the issue and while they originally were against the notion of revealing the lists, that idea was met with a hard push by fellow league staff members to make the lists public.

Related: Vegas Golden Knights' expansion mock roster

As per NHL expansion rules, teams must have their list of protected players submitted to the league by 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 17, while the Vegas Golden Knights must have their selections into the league by June 21.

Tuesday, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley confirmed to Yahoo Sports' Josh Cooper that the expansion draft will be a televised event.