SEATTLE — As general managers, technical directors and agents descend on Toronto for MLS Cup, all parties involved will have their ears to the ground. Any nugget of information could potentially mean the difference between keeping – or losing – a coveted player in the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft.
With that in mind, technical director Chris Henderson and the Seattle Sounders are waiting for the last moment to make their decisions. With the names of 11 protected players due at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 22, Henderson said his club will finalize the list sometime during Sunday’s MLS Cup.
“We’re still working on it,” Henderson said. “A lot goes into it – we don’t want to give anything to Vancouver or Portland.”
SEE: Official Rules for 2011 Expansion Draft
For the fans making their crib sheets at home, Sounders coach Sigi Schmid cautions it’s not as easy as protecting the starting XI. There are several variables at play, including players’ options prices, years left on the current contract, ages and best guesses about the selecting teams’ rosters.
Sometimes, clubs attempt to protect the players the new team would find most attractive. It’s not uncommon for a team to try sneaking a highly paid veteran through the Expansion Draft, in the hopes that a high 2011 salary could scare off an expansion team.
[inline_node:303795]When the Sounders made their selections in 2008, they chose the cost-efficient Brad Evans from Columbus over highly compensated Eddie Gaven. Despite injury problems, most would say Evans turned out to be a wise pick for Seattle while Gaven remained with the Crew.
With player options and salaries opaque to the casual fan, foretelling a team’s protected list with a high degree of certainty is a near impossibility. No matter which players end up protected, the club is resigned to losing a good player or two. In 2009, Sebastien Le Toux (14 goals, 11 assists in 2010) moved from Seattle to Philadelphia.
“We accept the fact that we are probably going to lose two good players, but that’s just going to be it,” Schmid said.
If history is any indication, the Sounders will protect players who play up the middle of the field. In 2009, the club protected three center backs, for example, while leaving outside players James Riley (right back) and Le Toux (left midfield) unprotected. With four quality center backs on the roster (Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni and Tyrone Marshall), similarly difficult decisions must be made before Monday’s deadline.
Speculation can begin in full force when the protected lists will be published on MLSsoccer.com on Monday afternoon. The Expansion Draft will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 24.
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