Over the past few days, much time and effort has been spent by fans and members of the media trying to put the Calgary Stampeders’ 2016 season into perspective.

The regular season? Glorious.

The Western Final? Dominating.

Overtime loss in the Grey Cup? Heart-breaking.

Add it all up and what do you get? If there are any answers to that stumper, head coach Dave Dickenson isn’t sweating it. He has other priorities.

“It’s time to get back to work,” he says, “and make another run at it.”

When asked to sum up the past season, Dickenson replies: “It was a great year. Not the greatest year, but still a great year.”

Otherwise, Dickenson, his staff and Stamps management are already hard at work preparing for the 2017 campaign.

Wednesday featured the coaching staff behind closed doors dissecting every nook and cranny of the roster.

Thursday brought an official reminder of the work that lies ahead for general manager John Hufnagel and the player personnel department — 26 members of the Red and White are eligible for free agency if they aren’t re-signed by mid-February.

The Stamps, of course, are hardly alone in that regard.

Every team in the CFL has at least 21 pending free agents and the newly crowned Ottawa RedBlacks have no fewer than 31.

“We have 26 free agents,” notes Dickenson. “We can’t pay all those guys. Neither can the other teams. You have to prioritize who you’re going to sign and look at the areas of your team that are most in need.”

Still, it’s hard for the Stamps and their fans to look at the list of free agents and not gasp for air.

Derek Dennis, the league’s best offensive lineman in 2016, needs a new contract, ditto for CFL sack champ Charleston Hughes and the club’s leading receiver, Marquay McDaniel.

Rob Cote, the longest-serving member of the team, is a pending free agent. So are kicker Rene Paredes, punter Rob Maver, all-star defensive tackle Micah Johnson and offensive linemen Dan Federkeil and Pierre Lavertu.

Many of the players on the list have already said publicly that remaining in Calgary is their first choice and want to ink new contracts before ever testing free agency.

A few, like Dennis, will try their luck south of the border in the NFL.

Some may very well wind up wearing a different CFL uniform.

“You want to keep the team together,” says Dickenson, “but you can’t pay everybody. You have to understand where your depth is and potentially where you can get younger and cheaper and cross your fingers.”

It’s worth noting that a season ago, there was much concern when free agents such as Eric Rogers, Keon Raymond, Juwan Simpson and Freddie Bishop III, for various reasons, cut ties with the Stamps.

“We have 26 free agents. We can’t pay all those guys. Neither can the other teams. You have to prioritize who you’re going to sign and look at the areas of your team that are most in need.” – Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson

That was before newcomers like DaVaris Daniels, Tommie Campbell, Alex Singleton and Ja’Gared Davis stepped up and ably filled the void created by the departure of the vets.

“Losing players is just part of the deal and you have to find replacements,” says Dickenson. “Can we do it again? That’s a question that will be answered next year but I certainly have faith in the guys here.”

And let’s not forget that no matter how long the list of pending free agents might be, there’s some pretty solid talent under contract.

Like 2016 Most Outstanding Player Bo Levi Mitchell.

And Most Outstanding Canadian and rushing champion Jerome Messam.

And rookie-of-the-year Daniels.

And all-star defensive backs Campbell, Ciante Evans and Jamar Wall.

And Brandon Smith.

And Spencer Wilson.

And Shane Bergman.

And Deron Mayo.

And Joshua Bell.

And so on, and so on, and so on.

Oh yeah, and Dickenson — the CFL’s coach of the year — will return along with defensive co-ordinator DeVone Claybrooks, whose unit allowed the fewest points in the CFL this past season.

The Stamps also led the league in points scored in 2016 and Dickenson will continue to call plays.

“We were the top-rated offence,” he notes. “I feel like I’m good at (play-calling). I enjoy it and I take a lot of pride in it. Why would we change?”

To which a relieved Mitchell says: “There is no better play caller in the entire game.”

The final chapter of the 2016 season was soul-crushing, to be sure, but the disappointment doesn’t change the fact that a solid foundation remains in place in Calgary and there’s cause for optimism in 2017.

Is it June yet?