"After a lot of internal discussion following the General Managers meeting (March 6-8), we determined it would be best to disclose those lists publicly," Daly said. "One of our guiding principles from the start of this process was to prioritize transparency, and certainly here, keeping the lists private would not have promoted that particular objective.
"Also, while I think the [general] managers on balance favored maintaining the privacy of the process, I can't say I felt anyone expressed particularly strong views on the subject one way or the other. So, in the end, we ran it by the (NHL) Players' Association and it ultimately became a pretty easy decision."
Vegas begins play in the NHL next season.
The 30 other NHL teams must submit their list of protected players by 5 p.m. ET June 17. Vegas will submit its selections by 5 p.m. ET June 20, and the announcement of the selections will be made June 21.
Teams must protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender; or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender.
Any player with a no-movement clause in his contract at the time of the expansion draft must be protected unless he waives it. All first- and second-year professional players, and unsigned draft choices, are exempt from selection by Vegas and do not have to be protected.
Vegas must select one player from each team to fill a roster of at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies, with a minimum of 20 players under contract for the 2017-18 season.
Vegas also can sign any restricted or unrestricted free agent left unprotected by his team from June 18-20. These free agents would not otherwise be allowed to sign with a team different than the one they played for this season until July 1.
