The Penguins relinquished the NHL rights to defensive prospect Antti Palojarvi on Tuesday.
A sixth-round (No. 186 overall) pick in 2017, Palojarvi needed to sign with the Penguins by 5 p.m. Tuesday for the team to retain his rights.
A left-handed shot, the 22-year-old Palojarvi was limited to only 26 combined games in various leagues in his native Finland this past season.
With Hermes of the second-tier Mestis league, Palojarvi played in 15 games and scored four points (one goal, three assists). Additionally, Palojarvi played in 11 games for KooKoo of the U20 SM-sarja, Finland’s top junior league, and scored five points (one goal, four assists).
Palojarvi is the third member of the Penguins’ six-player draft class from 2017 who is no longer with the organization.
Defenseman Zachary Lauzon (second round, No. 51 overall) retired in 2019 due to concussion issues while forward Lunus Olund (fifth round, No. 155 overall) was waived and released from his entry-level contract with the Penguins in May of 2020.
The Penguins still have rights to defenseman Clayton Phillips (third round, No. 93 overall) as he is entering his final season at Penn State in 2021-22.
Forward Jan Drozg (fifth round, No. 152 overall) just completed the second-year of a three-year entry-level contract while defenseman Will Reilly (seventh round, No. 217 overall) has one year remaining on a two-year entry-level contract.
