CALGARY — There’s a profound difference in the way Calgary Stampeders coach and general manager John Hufnagel is approaching Wednesday’s opening of free agency, compared to this time last year.

First of all, in practical terms, Hufnagel won’t have to stay up past his typical early bedtime that allows him to arrive at his McMahon Stadium office somewhere around 4:30 or 5 a.m. In the past, free agency began at midnight ET but this year the Canadian Football League sensibly changed the deadline to 12 hours earlier.

But the other major difference is that Hufnagel had to stay up late last year, because he had definite holes he needed to fill through free agency in the wake of the loss of his starting cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Dwight Anderson.

This time around, Hufnagel will likely be more of an observer than a participant when the talent-grab gets underway.

“Not unless there’s a big surprise, where somebody’s agent calls up and says his guy really wants to come here, and that he fits within our salary cap, and that he’ll be able to compete and make it a strong position for us,” said Hufnagel. “But I’ve always been in the mode that I’ve never been a big player in free agency unless there’s a strong need. I don’t see a need as of today. That’s totally the opposite of last year, when I lost both of my corners.”

Which is another way of saying that of the talent that will be on the market on Wednesday morning, not many will be an upgrade on the Stampeders’ existing depth chart, and the ones who do fit that description won’t fit on the team’s balance sheet.

“I don’t have a perceived void in my lineup,” said Hufnagel. “Some might say defensive line (after the retirement of DeVone Claybrooks). But I have two young Canadians who played a lot of football last year in (Brian) Bulcke and Junior Turner. Knock on wood, we have a healthy Corey Mace. I have Charleston (Hughes) back, we have (Chris) McCoy, who came in at the end of the year and did a nice job. I have two young import defensive tackles that I expect to take a big step from the first year to the second year in Torrey Davis and Kevin Dixon. And we have the guys we’ve signed (Cody Brown and Chase Vaughn). We’ve put a lot money, time and effort into our off-season recruiting, and that’s how I prefer to do it.”

The free agent class of 2012 is highlighted by a pair of Canadians — Saskatchewan slotback Andy Fantuz and Winnipeg offensive lineman Brendon LaBatte. Both would fit in nicely with the Stampeders, but neither will sign in Calgary because their asking price will be too high.

“There’s a couple offensive linemen that I’ve heard are asking for big numbers, and we’ll have to see how that shakes down,” said Hufnagel. “But you can’t really trust what you hear because it can throw everything out of whack.”

“But,” he added with a laugh, “If Andy Fantuz wants to fit into our salary cap, I’ll talk to him.”

Suffice to say, that conversation won’t happen.

Calgary Herald

acameron@calgaryherald.com

Twitter.com/AllenCameron