June 1 is the "must sign by date" in the NHL, where teams lose their exclusive signing rights to certain draft picks, allowing those players to become unrestricted free agents.
The Los Angeles Kings signed a few players leading up to this and let a few others walk.
The two they let walk today were a pair of Finns, Kasper Simontaival and Juho Markkanen.
Both were 2020 draft picks, Simontaival 66th overall and Markkanen 112th.
Both will also be continuing their professional careers in their home country. To be frank, this isn't a huge loss for the Kings.
Neither player has done much since being drafted to suggest they'll be future NHLers. Simontaival is a skilled forward, but not skilled enough to offset his 5-foot-9 frame.
At 22, Simontaival posted 33 points in 56 Liiga games. Good numbers, but hardly ones that jump off the page at you.
For reference, Rasmus Kupari posted the same number of points in fewer games as an 18-year-old, and we know how Kupari's NHL career has gone.
Simontaival showed flashes of elite skill as a junior player but hasn't been able to fully translate it into the professional game.
The Kings might have been interested in bringing him over and trying him out in the AHL after he had a solid development camp last year. However, Simontaival re-signed in Liiga, closing that door.
It makes sense for him too, the chances of him making the NHL were very slim, so staying home and playing a more significant role in Liiga is more enticing.
Markkanen didn't see much action last season, even spending time in Finland's second division, and he won just one professional game last season.
Of course, wins are a team stat, but still not an ideal sign.