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In something of a surprise move, the Montreal Impact have selected Sounders right back James Riley and traded him to Chivas USA in exchange for striker Justin Braun.
The list of Seattle Sounders players protected from being taken by the Montreal Impact in Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft has been released. The majority of the list is anti-climactic, but the intrigue was always going to be on the bubble just as has been the case for most MLS teams. List is below, with a bit of analysis to follow:
If there is a surprise, it's that Mike Fucito was left exposed while both Brad Evans and Erik Friberg were protected. A lesser surprise is that James Riley has been left exposed as well, meaning the Sounders could enter emerge from the draft with Zach Scott as the only player on the roster with regular time at right back. The possibility of Brad Evans transitioning to that position has been alluded to as well.
Without doing a great deal of analysis as to what other players are available, Mike Fucito seems the most likely Sounder to be taken by the Impact. Riley is a distinct possibility as well, with Patrick Ianni and Servando Carrasco looking vulnerable depending on what direction Montreal is looking to move. We'll find out for sure on Wednesday.
MLS Expansion Draft 2011: Montreal Impact Select James Riley, Trade For Tyson Wahl
With the 9th pick in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft, the Montreal Impact have selected Seattle Sounders right back James Riley. Riley was immediately traded to Chivas USA for striker Justin Braun. After the conclusion of the draft it was also announced that the Impact have traded allocation dollars for Sounders left back Tyson Wahl, meaning Seattle is left with just one full back-Leo Gonzalez-on the roster.
The loss of Riley is a major surprise, but not nearly as big a surprise as the transaction that followed his selection. That Montreal was able to add a young striker of Braun's caliber in exchange for Riley is perhaps the biggest news to come out of the day and will leave some Sounders fans wondering if a similar deal could have been made before Riley's selection (aside from the Impact's decision to select Brian Ching with the first pick just a day after his stated intention to retire should he be selected, which is just too bizarre to process.)
Clearly, the Sounders would not have traded Wahl if there wasn't some sort of major change coming to the defense; the question now is what it will be. Leo Gonzalez worked his way back into heavy rotation late on in the season and the team is likely comfortable with him as their starter, but as of now he has no cover and is not exactly known for his endurance. It seems unlikely that Seattle will enter the season with Zach Scott as their starting right back, but the question is whether they have a signing lined up or if the team plans to convert a midfielder; Brad Evans is one name that has been mentioned as such a possibility. What's certain is that some fairly significant changes are coming, and they're likely to be coming rather soon. Expansion Draft day is always busy, so don't step too far away just yet.
Montreal Impact 2011 MLS Expansion Draft List:
Nov 23 12:23p by Aaron Campeau