Islanders' Brock Nelson: Left unprotected

Nelson was not among the players that the Islanders elected to protect in the upcoming expansion draft, Arthur Staple of Newsday reports.

Nelson has frustrated the Islanders brass at times with his inconsistency but still has 66 goals over the past three seasons and has only missed two games over this time. His name being left unprotected was a surprise and could indicate that the Islanders already have a deal in place with Las Vegas to send it a draft pick in return for not selecting players like Ryan Strome, Calvin de Haan and Nelson.