MLS Expansion Draft 101

VANCOUVER, BC – Bust out your notebooks, everyone. I present you: MLS Expansion Draft 101.  

You’ve probably heard it mentioned a few times as of late and you’ll likely hear a lot more of it leading up to the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft on Wednesday, December 10 (the event will be streamed live on MLSsoccer.com at 11 a.m. PT). 

But what exactly is the Expansion Draft and how might it affect Vancouver Whitecaps FC?

The following primer should hopefully give you some answers.

WHAT IS IT?

As you could probably deduct from its name, the Expansion Draft comes around when an expansion team is set to join the league. The Expansion Draft, which is common among the North American sports leagues, is used as a tool to help the incoming club(s) stock their roster.

Quite simply: it gives the incoming team(s) an opportunity to select existing players in the league. The 2014 MLS Expansion Draft is being held for New York City FC and Orlando City SC, who are both set to join MLS next season.  

WHO CAN BE PICKED?

Each team can protect 11 players (in addition to their Homegrown players on the developmental roster and Generation adidas player, who are exempt). The remaining players are available for selection. See Vancouver’s full breakdown below.

FORMAT

As in years past, the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft will consist of 10 rounds (meaning there will be a total of 20 selections between the two teams). Orlando City has the first pick, as a result of a Priority Draft held in September, and they will alternate with New York City FC from that point forward.

If/when a team has a player claimed in the Expansion Draft, that team may protect an additional player. And once two players have been picked from a team’s non-protected roster, that team is eliminated from the draft and will not lose any more players.

MLS also recently announced that teams whose players are selected in the Expansion Draft will be compensated with allocation money. Per the MLS roster rules and regulations, teams can use allocation money to sign players new to MLS, "buy-down" a player's salary budget charge, and in some cases re-sign existing MLS players. 

HISTORY

The last MLS Expansion Draft was held in 2011 ahead of Montreal Impact’s inaugural season. The Impact used each of their 10 selections, though only six of those players ever played a game for Montreal, including former 'Caps defender/midfielder Jeb Brovsky. That’s because the Impact made several trades in the weeks, days, and even hours following the draft, which is often the norm.

For example, Montreal selected Houston Dynamo striker Brian Ching with their first pick but traded him back to Houston before the start of the season. Similarly, they selected Sporting Kansas City fullback Seth Sinovic and traded him back to SKC five days later.

The only player selected in the 2011 Expansion Draft that is still with Montreal is midfielder Justin Mapp, who had a team-high eight assists in 2014. 

An Expansion Draft was also held in 2010 for Whitecaps FC and their expansion cousins Portland Timbers, who both joined MLS in 2011. Each team made 10 selections.

The ‘Caps too made a number of moves following the draft – they traded their first pick Sanna Nyassi to Colorado for an international roster slot and their third pick Nathan Sturgis to Toronto FC for a first-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft, for example. But they also selected some key players, including Atiba Harris, Shea Salinas, Joe Cannon, and John Thorrington.

Click here to see a complete set of rules for the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft.  
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