Florida Panthers Announce Protected Players

     The National Hockey League released the players who will be protected by all 30 teams for the upcoming Vegas Golden Knights NHL Expansion Draft on June 21.
     The Florida Panthers surprised many by going with four forwards, four defensemen and one goalie instead of seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie. They along with the Arizona Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins went in that direction.
      The Panthers protected forwards Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck. They also held on to defensemen Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, Alex Petrovic and Mark Pysyk along with goalie James Reimer.
       Players exposed by the club includes Roberto Luongo, Reilly Smith, Jonathan Marchessault, Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen, Derek MacKenzie, Colton Sceviour, Michael Sgarbossa, James Demers, Thomas Vanek and Jakub Kindl.