Chris Sinclair, Cee Benwell, and Ian Kennedy discuss expansion impacts on PWHL teams Day one of PWHL free agency came with a lot of reported signings, and not a lot of official reports from the league. That all changed on day two of PWHL free agency. Vancouver continued their stock pile, Seattle made a few more additions, while many of the original six teams got down to business. Here's a look at everything that happened on day two of PWHL free agency, and what you should be watching on day three. TORONTO SECURES KEY PLAYERS Toronto made themselves known on day two of PWHL free agency by locking in key returning players including Kali Flanagan, Natalie Spooner, and Jesse Compher. [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/spooner-and-compher-return-to-toronto-on-two-year-deals] For Sceptres fans, seeing Spooner's name on a two-year deal is thrilling as many thought her career could be nearing an end following her injury. Toronto also made noise bringing in Elaine Chuli in net, a move reported last week by The Hockey News related to the team deciding to move on from Kristen Campbell in net. Toronto also signed former Montreal Victoire forward Claire Dalton. PWHL VANCOUVER CONTINUES TO STOCK PILE TALENT There's a new Walter Cup favourite only weeks after the trophy was last raised. Enter PWHL Vancouver. Not only did Vancouver have a strong signing period and draft, but they've had a hay day in free agency. Vancouver said they would target top six forwards and they did just that signing Hannah Miller, Michela Cava [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/michela-cava-signs-with-pwhl-vancouver-vanisova-officially-announced], and Tereza Vanisova. That's not where it ended however, as they also padded their blueline with veteran pros including Emma Greco and Mellissa Channell-Watkins. Vancouver now sits at 17 players with the ability to hit 23 players via the draft. MONTREAL FINDS A WAY TO RE-TOOL Daniele Sauvageau made savvy moves early in free agency to help re-tool the middle of her lineup. Not only did she manage to re-sign Kati Tabin and bring in Jessica DiGirolamo on the back end, but she locked in veteran forward Shiann Darkangelo and Hayley Scamurra, a pair of experience two-way players. BOSTON PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER Perhaps the biggest news out of Boston on the second day of free agency was news of head coach Courtney Kessel departing [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/sources-coaching-change-coming-for-boston-fleet-as-courtney-kessel-leaving-for-ncaa] for the head coaching job at Princeton. Within that, Boston did a good job of finding what they could in free agency, particularly signing Zoe Boyd and Rylind MacKinnon to add some experience to their blueline, and re-signing forwards Susanna Tapani [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/tapani-re-signs-with-boston-fleet], Theresa Schafzahl, and Jill Saulnier. SEATTLE ADDS MORE DEPTH Seattle added a few fan favourites from other organizations in the league via free agency signing defender Mariah Keopple [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/mariah-keopple-next-to-head-west-signs-with-seattle] and Lexie Adzija on the second day of free agency. It brought Seattle's roster to 14 players. FINALISTS REMAINED QUIET The biggest news from the two Walter Cup finalists was the re-signing of Maddie Rooney to a three year contract in Minnesota. Rooney proved she was Minnesota's starter last year and now looks like the goalie that will take them into the next stage of the franchise. The other finalists, the Ottawa Charge, were the lone team to still announce a signing. On the other end of the spectrum, last place New York had a trickle of signings with Jincy Roese and Taylor Girard inking deals. WHAT'S NEXT ON DAY THREE AND BEYOND? The list continues to shrink. Some of the top names remaining on the board include Dominika Laskova, Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Jade Downie-Landry, Loren Gabel, Elizabeth Giguere, Chloe Aurard, and Maggie Connors. Talks for all of these players are ongoing. Laskova has started to draw more interest and another name that remains hot on the tongues of teams across the league is Laura Kluge. It's also believed back-to-back Walter Cup winning goal scorer Liz Schepers will find her home in the next day. One position that has dried up considerably is the pool of defenders. Maggie Flaherty, Laskova, and Brooke Hobson are the only three PWHL regulars remaining on the market. The Ottawa Charge sit with only three defenders on their roster, while Minnesota and Montreal both have four. Those organizations will fight over the final remaining veterans before targeting defenders for multiple rounds in the draft.
