It was another active day for teams as Day 2 of the NHL Free Agency period starts seeing more names that are fringe NHLers or depth signings. Today was no different. Let’s take a look.

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Pittsburgh added defenseman Will O’Neill today. O’Neill, late of the St. John’s IceCaps, was the leading scorer for the IceCaps last season and was the fifth highest scoring defenseman in the American Hockey League last season. Another great addition likely ticketed for Coal Street in the Fall. O’Neill with Steve Oleksy, Dave Warsofsky, Reid McNeill and Barry Goers is a hell of a blue line if you ask me.

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The quantity award goes to the New York Islanders / Bridgeport Sound Tigers today. The Islanders added Justin Florek, Ben Holmstrom, Bracken Kearns, Justin Vaive, Joe Whitney and James Wright to NHL deals and the Sound Tigers added Tyler Barnes, Josh Holmstrom, Jesse Root, Andrew Rowe and Sebastien Sylvestre, along with defensemen Bryce Aneloski, Kane Lafranchise and C.J. Ludwig and goaltender Parker Milner to AHL deals.

Of guys ranked, Florek (63 on the big board) Vaive and Ben Holmstrom (not ranked but listed on the board) seem to be ticketed for Bridgeport along with Bracken Kearns and James Wright, which weren’t listed at all. The guys that Bridgeport signed to AHL deals are depth guys who, if they don’t stick with the Sound Tigers, are likely ticketed for the ECHL affiliate in Missouri.

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Hershey lost goaltender Pheonix Copley in the trade for T.J. Oshie to Washington but made up for it immediately by signing Chris Bourque to a two year deal. Hershey was in dire need for a top notch LW after yesterdays departures, so they went out and signed probably the best one out there.

Bears look thin on defense and in goal. Justin Peters will probably start in goal for the Bears next season but who will back up?

The Penguins, Bears and Sound Tigers all had multiple player moves. The other teams in the division except the New York Rangers / Hartford Wolf Pack all had one player signing to note.

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Forward Rob Flick. Comes over from Providence. Scrapper that can score. 19 goals with a good P-Bruins team. With the talent ticketed for Southern Maine next season, that number could increase.

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Re-signed defenseman Chris Breen. Providence hasn’t really added much in these past two days. I’d argue probably the least of all team in the division, so Breen will look to build on his best year as a professional last season with the P-Bruins in likely an increased role.

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Defenseman Alex Grant. Ex-Penguin Alex Grant that is. Comes over from Binghamton. 88 on the big board. Big time shot, power play ace.

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Goaltender Jason LaBarbera. Likely means that Rob Zepp won’t be back and needs a new team. (Hershey?) LaBarbera will probably mentor Anthony Stolarz as the two battle for the crease in Allentown.

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My instant takeaway from these past two days is that there will not be a night off for any of the teams in the Atlantic Division. Every team is loading up in some form or fashion and every night is going to be a battle.

Finally, here’s a story out of Pittsburgh on Conor Sheary.

The AHL Free Agent Big Board has been updated with all the latest signings. 49 names on the Top 100 list are left. The Penguins Offseason Moves List has also been updated noting the O’Neill signing. I am going to leave the Big Board above all the recent news on the blog, so if you come here looking for news and see the Big Board front and center, just scroll down to see the latest.

I’m traveling for a weekend getaway tomorrow, so I may not have a Day 3 Recap for the blog. If not and as long as the wire remains active, probably Saturday.