MLS Announces Key Offseason Dates

Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com

A busy winter is on tap for for executives and coaching staffs across MLS after the league released its 2014-15 offseason calendar on Wednesday.

The calendar includes the dates of the MLS Expansion, Waiver and Re-entry drafts, as well as the MLS Combine and SuperDraft, but did not include the date of the Dispersal Draft for Chivas USA players. Erick “Cubo” Torres is the lone member of the now-dissolved squad that will not be subject to the draft, but rather, will be available through a special weighted lottery.

As with previous offseasons which featured an Expansion Draft, this winter will feature a Half-day Trade Window on Dec. 8, shortly before 2015 newcomers New York City FC and Orlando City make their selections on Dec. 10. Orlando City will make the first selections in the Expansion and SuperDrafts, while New York City FC is first in line for the Allocation, Discovery and Designated Player rankings.

2014-15 MLS Offseason Calendar

TBD – MLS Dispersal Draft for Chivas USA

December 7, 2014 – MLS Cup Final

December 8, 2014 – Half-day Trade Window: Open 9 am ET – 1 pm ET. Teams may trade during that window or may re-sign their own players. Blackout period starts at 1 pm ET, runs through the MLS Expansion Draft.

December 10, 2014 – MLS Expansion Draft

December 10, 2014 – Trade Window opens at the end of Expansion Draft; closes on December 11, 2014, at 5 pm ET

December 10, 2014 – MLS Waiver Draft

December 12, 2014 – MLS Re-entry Draft, Phase One

December 12, 2014 – Trade Window opens at the end of Re-entry Draft Phase One; closes on December 17, 2014, at 11 am ET

December 18, 2014 – MLS Re-entry Draft, Phase Two

December 18, 2014 – Trade Window opens at the end of Re-entry Draft Phase Two

January 2-5, 2015 – MLS Caribbean Combine

January 9-13, 2015 – MLS Combine

January 15, 2015 – MLS SuperDraft

Here are explanations for all of the player acquisition mechanisms decided on Wednesday:

MLS Expansion Draft
The expansion draft occurs whenever a new team enters the league. Each team gets to pick a total of 10 players from the existing clubs in the league. Since two teams are entering the league, Orlando and New York will take alternating picks. Existing teams can protect up to 11 players. Homegrown and Gen adidas players are automatically protected unless they are on the Senior roster.

MLS SuperDraft
The SuperDraft is the process whereby all of the leagues teams get to pick players coming in from the college system. As expansion teams Orlando City and NYCFC will have the first two positions in the draft.

USL PRO/NASL Player Priority Ranking
NYCFC and OCSC are given priority ranking when signing players from USL PRO or NASL, subject to another MLS club’s right of first refusal.

Designated Player Ranking
The Designated player ranking comes into play when two MLS clubs wish to negotiate the same player, not including returning U.S. Men’s National team players of a certain threshold.

Discovery Ranking, Picks 19 & 20
The Discovery Ranking is determined by average points per game during the current League season with the team with the lower points per game average earning priority over the team with higher points per game average.

Allocation Ranking
The allocation ranking is used to determine which club has first priority to acquire a USMNT player who has signed with the league, or a player who returns to the MLS after playing abroad. Once a club uses it’s ranking to acquire a player, they drop to the bottom of the list. As new franchises, Orlando City and NYFC will take the top two spots in the allocation order. This does not include returing USMNT players above a certain threshold.

Waiver / Re-Entry Draft Ranking
This ranking determines the priority order for picking up players who’s club have not excersized their option, or players who have been placed on waiver by their club. Orlando City and NYCFC will take the bottom two positions in the order.

Lottery Ranking
The lottery system is a weighted lottery which assigns Generation Adidas players and draft eligible players who were signed to the league after the MLS SuperDraft. The higher the ranking, the more chance the team will have of winning. Orlando City and NYCFC will take the bottom two positions in the order.