New York Islanders leave Jordan Eberle unprotected

The 10 AM EST deadline for NHL clubs to submit their protection lists for the Seattle Expansion Draft has come and gone, and there have been a few surprises already.

One of which is the New York Islanders choosing to leave forward Jordan Eberle protected.

At forward, the Islanders are protecting:

Mathew Barzal (F)

Anthony Beauvillier (F)

Cal Clutterbuck (F)

Anders Lee (F)

Matt Martin (F)

Brock Nelson (F)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (F)

Also unprotected at forward are Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey.

Eberle, 31, put up 16 goals and tallied 17 assists through 55 games last season, and has three years left on his contract, which carries an annual cap hit of $5.5 million.

To round out their list, the Islanders also protected:

Scott Mayfield (D)

Adam Pelech (D)

Ryan Pulock (D)

Semyon Varlamov (G)