Before the list was officially released, The Daily Wiz had it first.
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Davy Arnaud | Korede Aiyegbusi |
| Stephane Auvray | Sunil Chhetri |
| Matt Besler | Jimmy Conrad |
| Roger Espinoza | Birahim Diop |
| Michael Harrington | Zoltan Hercegfalvi |
| Jack Jewsbury | Aaron Holbein |
| Kei Kamara | Nikos Kounenakis |
| Jimmy Nielsen | Eric Kronberg |
| Craig Rocastle | Jonathan Leathers |
| Ryan Smith | Chance Myers |
| Graham Zusi | Shavar Thomas |
| Teal Bunbury (GA) | Josh Wolff |
| Jon Kempin (HG) |
Thoughts after the jump...
The other day, I predicted that Chhetri and Bravo would be protected. I was mistaken when thinking that Bravo had to be protected, so he is obviously not on the list. In Chhetri's place is Besler. Jewsbury where I had Bravo's spot. 9.5/11 isn't bad.
I'm very glad to see that Nielsen was protected. The front office let Kevin Hartman walk after last season, and to have let his replacement, that played pretty well in 2010, go through the expansion draft unexposed would have been silly.
Harrington and Espinoza were no-brainers. Best fullback duo in the league. Slightly surprised, but super excited to see Besler also protected. I like his game a lot. I had worried that he had fallen too far out of favor with head coach Peter Vermes, that he would be allowed to be taken. Jimmy Conrad is likely done in Kansas City, whether he is selected by Portland Timbers or Vancouver Whitecaps, or not.
No surprises in the midfield. Arnaud is the captain. Auvray plays a position (pretty well, might I add) that is tough to find, let alone replace when you had a good one, at the holding midfield spot. Jewsbury is a slight surprise, but I'm not upset about it. He just didn't play a whole lot in the second half. I suppose Geoff Gibson will be sad to lose out on his potential captain from this week's mock expansion draft. Sorry to get your hopes up, Geoff. Though, I imagine Dax McCarty will suffice for that number one overall pick.
Kamara and Smith being the only two forwards (non-Generation adidas division) protected is a huge relief. Scoring goals in 2010 was a huge problem, and the fact that Vermes wasn't tempted to hold onto the players that struggle themselves is good to know. I like the four-man squad of Bravo, Bunbury, Kamara and Smith heading into 2011. If you can find someone to add, though, never hesitate to add another scorer.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the lists. There is no one on the exposed list that I feel is vitally important going forward. Though I do hope that Myers, Leathers and Thomas are left alone. Leathers and Thomas have roles in defense, and Myers is still young enough that he could breakout at some point.