The long-awaited press release on the Draft Lottery.

At the offseason blog, Matt Wurst explains the announcement delay.

The late announcement is the result of several factors. Primarily, the league's competition committee will be meeting on Monday to discuss potential rule changes, the schedule and other factors, so many league team executives will already be in on that date. Second, the date announcement was held off as long as possible to determine availability for potential television coverage.

Matt also confirms that Expansion Draft protected lists are due November 1, and that Chicago then has two weeks to pick.

And another important note: "Further, if a team has any intention of designating one of their free agents a core player, they must be kept on the protected list."