THE CANADIAN PRESS

Montreal Alouettes general manager Jim Popp might have finally found a bright side in losing in the Grey Cup.

Less than a month after enduring their fourth Grey Cup loss in six seasons, the Alouettes signed veteran slotback Ben Cahoon to a one-year deal that includes an option on Monday. Popp said Cahoon might have some unfinished business, and he's hoping some of the team's other marquee free agents feel the same way.

"That would be interesting to see if some of these players wouldn't play anymore if we'd won the Grey Cup," Popp said in a conference call Monday. "As it always is, it's very bitter. Especially when you feel like you have a Grey Cup team good enough to win.

"The bad news is we lost the Grey Cup and we don't have a ring and a cup to show to our fans. But you might have got a year or two out of a handful of players because of that."

This month, the Alouettes have signed Cahoon, safety Etienne Boulay and centre Bryan Chiu. Popp said that talks are progressing well with some of his other free agents, and he could get a couple deals done over the next week.

Cahoon, for his part, has had a harder time reconciling Montreal's 22-14 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on Nov. 23.

"Emotionally, I don't know that I'm completely over it," Cahoon said Monday. "I think I woke up last week and for the first time felt good.

"I was kind of out of it and just kind of melancholy and slightly depressed for a few weeks trying to put that loss in perspective. And I think every player's different that way. Some people can get over it the next day, and some people might take weeks or months. For me, it was definitely a couple weeks of just kind of being out of sorts.

"I think my wife would probably be happy to confirm that."

The 36-year-old had another superb campaign last year. He was named the East Division's top Canadian after leading the league with 107 receptions, and he finished with 1,231 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

He denies that the Grey Cup loss motivated him to return for another year - "I think it probably would have been tempting to go out on a high note, but I still think I have a lot of football left in me," he says - but he acknowledges that he seriously contemplated leaving football behind.

"I've considered retirement 10 times over my career," Cahoon said. "That's the honest truth. My wife's heard, 'just one more year' 10 different times.

"But I think she kind of just realized that it was a pretty special thing that we've got going on in Montreal, with our team, and the fans, and she didn't want to say goodbye yet. I guess that gave me the courage to say, 'maybe we should do it one more year."'

Of course, Popp and the Alouettes have a piece of unfinished business of their own to address - quarterback Anthony Calvillo, the 2008 outstanding player award winner who is also thought to be weighing retirement.

In October 2007, Calvillo left the Alouettes after his wife, Alexis Kontolemos, was diagnosed with cancer following the birth of their second child. Fortunately, she responded well to treatment and Calvillo returned to continue his CFL career.

Cahoon is close with Calvillo. While Cahoon says that he hasn't heard a decision from his quarterback, he believes he'll return.

"I had a gut feeling that he will be back," Cahoon said. "Talking to him throughout the season, I think he'd like to play a couple more years if he's healthy, obviously, and if Alexis is healthy.

"Just a gut feeling I have, he hasn't made any announcement to me and I'd be wrong to speak for him. But I guess I'm assuming he'll be back, and hopefully that'll happen."

Popp also said he wasn't sure of Calvillo's plans. No CFL player actually becomes a free agent until Feb. 16, and Popp expected he and Calvillo would pick up their talks in January.

But Popp's gut feeling was the same as Cahoon's.

"I know Anthony, just by a few conversations, feels like he wants to play, but a lot rides on his personal life and what's next for him," Popp said.

Beyond 2009, Cahoon is similarly unsure about his future. For now, he's sticking with his "one more year" mantra.

"I think if I'm a betting man, this would be the last year, but I'm not going to make any announcement before the end of next year," said Cahoon, who has spent his entire 11-year career in Montreal. "I'm not going to say for sure one way or another, because I don't want it to be a distraction or to even be brought up next year.

"But right now, I'm just going to focus on next year and getting through the whole season and trying to do the best we can to come together and jell and peak at the right time and play our best football at the end of November."