Montreal Alouettes GM Jim Popp will have a little work to do this off-season.
The Grey Cup champions have 12 players slated to become free agents Feb. 16, according to a list released Monday by the CFL.
Among the Alouettes players who could hit the free-agent market are veteran centre Bryan Chiu, receiver Kerry Watkins and defensive linemen John Bowman and Keron Williams.
The six-foot-two, 300-pound Chiu has spent his entire CFL career with Montreal since joining the club in 1997. The 35-year-old is an eight-time league all-star and has captured two Grey Cup titles.
Bowman (tied for CFL sacks lead with 12) and Williams (eight sacks) were big parts of a Montreal defence that was the CFL's best in 2009, and Waktins finished the season as the CFL's second-leading receiver with 81 catches for 1,243 yards and eight TDs.
According to the CFL, a total of 67 players are poised to become free agents next month should they not sign new deals with their current clubs. Included in that total, though, are eight players no longer in the CFL due to having been released, retired or signing with NFL teams last year when they entered the option year of their CFL deals.
The West Division-champion Saskatchewan Roughriders have a league-high 17 players slated to become free agents. That does include defensive tackle Scott Schultz, who retired midway through last season.
But the Riders' list does include former 1,000-yard rusher Wes Cates, standout defensive end Stevie Baggs (12 sacks), veteran defensive back Eddie Davis and Canadian-born slotback Andy Fantuz.
Tailback Joffrey Reynolds, who ran for a CFL-high 1,504 yards last season, and veteran kicker Sandro DeAngelis are among the Calgary Stampeders' projected free agents.
Defensive end Rickey Foley, the CFL's top Canadian last year after posting 12 sacks for the B.C. Lions, is also in line for a new contract.
The Toronto Argonauts have 10 players slated for free agency, including special-teams star Dominique Dorsey and tailback Jamal Robertson, who ran for 1,031 yards this season.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have the fewest potential free agents with two: running back John Williams and offensive lineman Cedric Gagne-Marcoux.