By Tuesday night, GMs had spent nearly $500 million on UFAs. As always, a ton of that money was spent recklessly and was used to sign future buyouts. Amidst the chaos there were some reasonable deals and some outright steals.

Here's a recap of some of the worst and best contracts handed out on the first day of free agency.

I'm so cheap I'm still pissed about the day I spent a dollar on a mystery bag of comics. I thought "wow, a mystery bag, I bet there could be tons of Spider-man comics in there". Wrong. I was young, the comics were crap, and I still mourn the loss of that dollar.

But most NHL GMs don't share my miser ways. In fact, every summer they take a great, big wad of cash burning a hole in their pocket, which is undoubtedly there because some horrible contract just came off the books, and they proceed to spend it on a new contractual anchor, which might as well be tied around their neck (unless we're talking about Glen Sather, then we're talking about the contractual anchors that will eventually be around some other GM's neck).

This summer, most GMs spent as wildly as ever, but some actually spent their money wisely. It's early in the season, but it's about time we start looking at what the 2011 UFA class is doing.

Some players such as Brad Richards and Christian Ehrhoff have provided a level of production that is fairly consistent with their salary. You won't find them on this list. Other players like Simon Gagne are just 'meh'. They aren't paid too much and they are playing half-decently. They're no fun.

This list is the best, the worst, and the 'OMG how is this player not on the bust list', based on the early returns of the 2011-2012 season. Of course, this list can change at any time, but in some cases, you know it won't.

The pursuit of a number one centre will be Brian Burke’s top priority this summer. Of course you already know this because Brian Burke isn’t shy with his opinions and the Toronto media loves to run wild with any piece of informational nugget that Burke throws them.

There are a few options for the Leafs, each with their own positives and negatives.

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Yesterday’s report that the Rangers intend to buy out the final year of Chris Drury’s contract signals the end of yet another Glen Sather mistake – something that is becoming a regular occurrence in New York.

For the past decade, Glen Sather has essentially dug a hole in the ground and thrown millions and millions of dollars into it. If there was an aging superstar entering free agency you could be sure that Sather was the most persistent suitor for their service. Even if there wasn't a superstar available, Sather would pay someone as if they were a superstar.

Now the hot rumour is that the Rangers are going to fall over themselves trying to sign Brad Richards to a lucrative contract. It almost seems unfair that a team can give someone a $7 million contract seemingly every season and wiggle out of these commitments when it becomes apparent they made a terrible mistake. (Note: my faux-outrage really stems from my yearning for the Leafs to sign Brad Richards).

What’s confusing is that aside from spending money, Glen Sather is an adept GM.

Sather has shown an ability to acquire superstars for close to nothing. He brought in Pavel Bure for two prospects and three draft picks that accumulated a mere 33 games in the NHL; Eric Lindros for Kim Johnsson and spare parts; and Jaromir Jagr for Anson Carter.

Injuries curtailed Bure's time in New York, but he scored 50 points in 51 games. Lindros suffered a similar fate, but still gave the Rangers a 70+ point season and a 50+ point one. Jagr was the true steal, scoring 123 points his first season (the 3rd best total of his career), 96 in his second, and 71 in his third. In total, Sather brought in close to 500 points for a bag of rocks.

Sather has also finally started building a solid young core of players that includes Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Marc Staal, Derek Stepan, and others.

Plus, he seems to find takers for some pretty unattractive contracts (which we’ll discuss in more detail later).

This is also a man inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He’s clearly great when given all-world talent to work with. He won four Stanley Cups with the Oilers in the 1980s and played a major role in building team Canada for the 1984 Canada Cup, 1994 World Hockey Championship, and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

However, his Hall of Fame induction was in 1997, three years before he became this free spending maniac GM.

Enough with the pleasantries; you’re reading this for a juicy trash session. Here are the (current) worst moves of the Glen Sather Era. Remember, as long as Sather has money to spend as the Rangers’ GM, this list is a work in progress.