While my article yesterday poked some fun at ridiculous overspending by several teams there were some teams that managed to spend responsibly while building a contender for next season.

I would be an irresponsible journalist if I failed to mention Claude Giroux’s shenanigans in Ottawa Tuesday night. Apparently there is a lot going on in the Canadian capital city on Tuesday nights, or not a lot. I guess that depends on perspective, but I digress.

Giroux’s behavior is certainly unbecoming of a team captain, but certainly not terribly noteworthy. The actions of most general managers during the free agent frenzy on Tuesday were considerably more damaging to the welfare of their teams than a little grab-ass with law enforcement.

We’ll take a look at the winners of free agency so far. The teams that had a plan, a budget, and stuck to both. The moves that were made by these clubs will virtually guarantee a playoff spot without breaking the bank this year or in the immediate future.

Pittsburgh Penguins

New general manager Jim Rutherford kicked off his tenure with several key, and fiscally responsible transactions. He let the Washington Capitals cripple themselves by signing away Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen. Meanwhile the Pens added depth and balance to a very top-heavy roster. Christian Ehrhoff is more than a solid replacement for Niskanen and Steve Downie, Blake Comeau and Marcel Goc help fill out lines three and four. Thomas Greiss has been a career backup, but will get plenty of opportunities behind Marc-Andre Fleury

New York Islanders

The Isles made some pretty savvy moves as well, prior to the free agent market opening. They traded for Jaroslav Halak to give themselves a legitimate number one goaltender and signed Chad Johnson yesterday. Johnson has been a number two in his career, spending last season spelling Tuukka Rask. He’s a big talent that gives New York depth in goal for the first time since, well, probably the Civil War. The Isles were the stars of Wednesday’s deals too, adding Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin.

Dallas Stars

Not all the roster additions came via free agency and Dallas’ general manager Jim Nill kicked off his second year in charge with another blockbuster deal. The Stars grabbed former Ottawa captain Jason Spezza for a couple of players and a draft pick. Adding Spezza’s former linemate Ales Hemsky gives Dallas plenty of offense and takes a load off of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.

Tampa Bay

The Lightning kicked off their free agent spending spree by (in my opinion) overpaying for Ryan Callahan. They locked up their biggest variable without having to pay him more on the open market. Tampa then swiped up Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle before adding Evgeni Nabokov as a veteran backup for Ben Bishop. The Lightning also acquired Jason Garrison from Vancouver which is an immediate upgrade from Sami Salo’s skeleton.