Last year's offseason had activity on just about every front, with new TV deals, two expansion teams coming in, and CBA negotiations. This winter promises to be more straightforward. Well, in MLS terms anyway. There's still a mess of weird player movement mechanisms, the tortured product of the league's desire to suppress free agency.
Offseason Dates
December 7 - List of players eligible for the Re-Entry Draft is made public, as is the first group of free agents in league history:
It's a larger group than I expected. There aren't any "stars" on the list, in part because teams have already signed most of the better potential FAs to new deals earlier in the season. Mostly, though, it's because the structure of free agency under the CBA means that most FAs will be in their late 20s or early 30s. There are a lot of past-their-peak players on this list.
I wouldn't mind seeing the Revs take a run at Corey Ashe for FB depth.
December 9 - Waiver Draft, which is for players who don't have enough league service to qualify for free agency or the Re-Entry Draft. A minor event during which few players change hands.
December 11 - Re-Entry Draft phase one. If a team chooses a player, they must pick up the option that the player's original team declined or (if the player is out of contract) make them an offer that constitutes a raise of a certain percentage. Few players are chosen because most players are on the Re-Entry list because they are bad values based on their existing contract.
December 17 - Re-Entry Draft phase two. Here, players chosen can be offered contracts that are lower than their previous salary
January 7-12 - MLS Combine. Mostly useless. Even though there are always some useful MLS players to be found in the draft, the combine isn't a format that is particularly informative.
January 14 - Draft
January 22 - preseason begins
Feb 23-24 - CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals first leg
March 1-2 - CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals second leg
March 7-ish - season begins
Transfers
Nothing was officially announced prior to MLS Cup, but there was a flurry of activity yesterday as previous agreed upon deals were able to be announced.
- DC United acquired winger Lamar Neagle from Seattle for $$$
- DC also dealt winger/forward Chris Pontius to Philadelphia for $$$. Apparently Philly is taking on Pontius' full contract (at $420k) which is a hell of a lot for a guy who hasn't been healthy and productive for a while now. Shedding Pontius' salary and getting some money in return is a great deal for DC...if they reinvest it wisely. DC seems pretty financially gunshy and will likely remain so until their stadium opens.
- Philly dealt Cristian Maidana and Andrew Wenger to Houston for $$$ and the 6th overall pick in the draft. Maidana has some uses but is a luxury player. Wenger has been a disappointment as a forward and a winger, but I think could be a better player if he drifts deeper into central midfield or defense, perhaps. He played all over the place in college, but has insisted on being an attacker in MLS. It's not working.
Offseason Dates
December 7 - List of players eligible for the Re-Entry Draft is made public, as is the first group of free agents in league history:
It's a larger group than I expected. There aren't any "stars" on the list, in part because teams have already signed most of the better potential FAs to new deals earlier in the season. Mostly, though, it's because the structure of free agency under the CBA means that most FAs will be in their late 20s or early 30s. There are a lot of past-their-peak players on this list.
I wouldn't mind seeing the Revs take a run at Corey Ashe for FB depth.
December 9 - Waiver Draft, which is for players who don't have enough league service to qualify for free agency or the Re-Entry Draft. A minor event during which few players change hands.
December 11 - Re-Entry Draft phase one. If a team chooses a player, they must pick up the option that the player's original team declined or (if the player is out of contract) make them an offer that constitutes a raise of a certain percentage. Few players are chosen because most players are on the Re-Entry list because they are bad values based on their existing contract.
December 17 - Re-Entry Draft phase two. Here, players chosen can be offered contracts that are lower than their previous salary
January 7-12 - MLS Combine. Mostly useless. Even though there are always some useful MLS players to be found in the draft, the combine isn't a format that is particularly informative.
January 14 - Draft
January 22 - preseason begins
Feb 23-24 - CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals first leg
March 1-2 - CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals second leg
March 7-ish - season begins
Transfers
Nothing was officially announced prior to MLS Cup, but there was a flurry of activity yesterday as previous agreed upon deals were able to be announced.
- DC United acquired winger Lamar Neagle from Seattle for $$$
- DC also dealt winger/forward Chris Pontius to Philadelphia for $$$. Apparently Philly is taking on Pontius' full contract (at $420k) which is a hell of a lot for a guy who hasn't been healthy and productive for a while now. Shedding Pontius' salary and getting some money in return is a great deal for DC...if they reinvest it wisely. DC seems pretty financially gunshy and will likely remain so until their stadium opens.
- Philly dealt Cristian Maidana and Andrew Wenger to Houston for $$$ and the 6th overall pick in the draft. Maidana has some uses but is a luxury player. Wenger has been a disappointment as a forward and a winger, but I think could be a better player if he drifts deeper into central midfield or defense, perhaps. He played all over the place in college, but has insisted on being an attacker in MLS. It's not working.