TORONTO -- Let the Joe Montford sweepstakes begin. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats' rush end headlines a solid group of about 70 CFL players who become free agents at midnight Friday night. The talent pool also includes such proven veterans as Edmonton receiver Terry Vaughn, Toronto cornerback Wayne Shaw, B.C. Lions rush end Daved Benefield and Montreal slotback Jock Climie.

But Montford is clearly the biggest name. The six-foot-one, 225-pound Ticat is the CFL's most dominant defensive player, having registered 86 sacks the last four seasons and been named the league's outstanding player three times.

Montford won't come cheaply. The seven-year veteran is a game-breaker and will command a hefty six-figure annual salary.

Ron Lancaster, Hamilton's head coach and football operations director, said he has tabled an offer to Montford and can only wait to see if it will be enough. If it's not, Lancaster said he won't get into a bidding war for Montford.

"We're taking the approach this year to let them (free agents) get all their offers and if they want to play here, then give us a call and if they don't, we'll see ya," Lancaster said. "We've lost doing it the other way too many times.

"You try to sign guys and they take your offer all over the league to get it bettered. So we're going the other way."

The Toronto Argonauts are reportedly interested in Montford and landing him from arch-rival Hamilton would be a huge coup. But the Argos desperately need to shore up an offence that was ranked No. 7 in the eight-team CFL last year rather than tinker with a defence that finished second overall behind Winnipeg.

The team that could best afford Montford is the expansion Ottawa Renegades. The club has 20 players under contract, giving it plenty of room under the $2.28-million salary cap for free agency.

"Guys who are free agents this year hit a good year because there's a new team coming in that has money to spend," Lancaster said. "It's a little bit scary."

Renegades general manager Eric Tillman expects to be active in free agency, signing six to 10 players. Tillman's emphasis will be on finding young players who can grow with the expansion franchise.

Yet Tillman has shown he's not afraid to spend money or add veteran talent to help his cause. In last month's CFL expansion draft, Tillman plucked offensive linemen Carl Coulter (35) and Seth Dittman (29) from Hamilton and linebacker Kelly Wiltshire ($100,000 annual stipend) from Montreal.

"We have a blank canvas that gives us the opportunity to have flexibility with the cap to bring in the kinds of players and people we want," Tillman said. "But that doesn't mean we're going to sign the top free agent off every team.

"We're going to be judicious in our shopping and maybe the list we end up with will be very different than what people think. I believe it will be a list of more substance than flash."

One big-name who could end up with the Renegades is Climie, a 12-year veteran. The 33-year old native of Ottawa had 46 catches for 844 yards with Montreal last season, but his tenure there appears over after the club re-signed Ben Cahoon and Sylvain Girard.

Climie, a lawyer in Ottawa during the off-season, would like to finish his career there, but not if he has to take a significant pay cut to do so.

Also pegged as future Renegades are running back Mark Nohra and offensive lineman Val St. Germain, both Canadians with the Edmonton Eskimos.

But Toronto reportedly wants Nohra to fill the hole created by the departure of CFL rushing leader Michael Jenkins (Houston Texans, NFL). And there is talk St. Germain, who played at McGill, could head to Montreal.

Another hot commodity is Vaughn, the five-foot-eight, 185-pound slotback who was the CFL's leading receiver last season (98 catches, 1,497 yards). Vaughn has been critical of the Eskimos' management, suggesting he will be elsewhere next year.

Hamilton has an interesting free agent in slotback Mike Morreale. The six-foot-three, 210-pound receiver, whose wife is former Olympic swimmer Joanne Malar, was the CFL's top Canadian in 1998 but his production has slipped substantially since.

NOTES - Running back Tim Biakabutuka of the Carolina Panthers and linebacker-long snapper J.P. Darche of the Seattle Seahawks, both of Montreal, have been left unprotected by their NFL clubs in the expansion draft Monday to stock the Houston Texans. Biakabutuka is coming off a serious knee injury. Also available are San Diego quarterback Dave Dickenson and Green Bay linebacker K.D. Williams, both former CFLers . . . Five Canadians were recently allocated to NFL Europe by their NFL clubs. They are: Baltimore running back Morgan Kane of Ottawa (Amsterdam Admirals), Carolina offensive lineman Luke Fritz of Oliver, B.C. (Scottish Claymores), Cincinnati long snapper Randy Chevrier of St-Leonard, Que. (Barcelona Dragons), Pittsburgh defensive tackle Scott Schultz of Moose Jaw, Sask. (Barcelona) and St. Louis tight end Jason Gavadza of Toronto (Frankfurt Galaxy).