Which free agents have been good value signings?

When the Calgary Flames signed veteran goaltender Jonas Hiller and speedy forward Mason Raymond in the midst of the NHL's annual free agent frenzy last summer, it didn't rate a banner headline.

The signings around the league of Paul Stastny, Matt Niskanen, Ryan Miller, Brad Richards and Jarome Iginla garnered more attention.

But if you assess how the free agents have performed in the first three weeks of the season, the Hiller and Raymond acquisitions were two of the best value signings of the period.

"Both of those players have been everything we had hoped for," Flames general manager Brad Treliving said.

Although Raymond is sidelined with an injury, he leads all Calgary forwards with five goals and is among the team's leading scorers with seven points.

In six starts, Hiller has a 1.63 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage.

Both players are key reasons Calgary has been far more competitive than expected.

The Flames were happy with last season's goalie, Karri Ramo, and goaltending wasn't on top of their shopping list. But the availability of Hiller made them ponder the possibility they had an opportunity to strengthen an important position.

"He has proven over a period of time that he is a good NHL goalie and still has years in front of him," Treliving said.

Hiller, 32, was coming off a down season, but Treliving had seen enough of him through the years to think it was a blip rather than the start of a downward trend.

"He was available, and we felt there was value," Treliving said. "It is the old adage … when a player scores 50 goals, you can't get him."

The Flames went after Raymond to replace the scoring lost when Mike Cammalleri signed with the New Jersey Devils.

"We weren't asking Raymond to come in and be a savior. But when you are at where we are at, you want production, but you also want players who provide other things as well," Treliving said. "We wanted to add some speed, because the game is getting quicker and quicker.

"But he can do a bunch of different things. He can play up and down your lineup and kill penalties, play on the power play. He has experience, and he wanted to be here."

Raymond signed for $9.5 million over three seasons. Ramo has been sharing the goaltending duties with Hiller, who got a two-year, $9 million deal.

"(Hiller's signing) gave us stability and a piece to grow on," Treliving said.

The $7.6 million the Flames have committed to Hiller and Raymond seems like money well spent. Other players who have been high-value free agents for their teams:

-Winger Radim Vrbata (Vancouver Canucks): This signing was met with mixed reviews because Vrbata hadn't played as well in his other stops as he had in Phoenix. But he has been Vancouver's top point producer and meshes well on the Sedin line.

-Defenseman Anton Stralman (Tampa Bay Lightning): He was among the most coveted players in the marketplace, and he received a five-year deal at $4.5 million a season. With eight points and a plus-8 rating, he is still a high-value signing.

-Center Mike Ribeiro (Nashville Predators): The Coyotes bought out his contract because they didn't like his behavior away from the rink. Nashville gave him another chance, and he has been one of its top offensive players.

-Forward Mikhail Grabovski (New York Islanders): GM Garth Snow significantly upgraded the team's scoring depth by adding Grabovski and Nikolay Kulemin to play on the second line.

-Cammalleri (New Jersey): Before going down with an injury, Cammalleri was providing an offensive boost with seven points in eight games.

-Mike Santorelli (Toronto Maple Leafs): Signed for $1.5 million, Santorelli has been a productive third liner, registering a goal and four assists. He's plus 3 on a team that isn't good defensively.