The Expansion Draft: A Broken System?

This is a thought provoking post and the investment you made into researching it is much appreciated – it takes a lot of time to put together the information you provided.

I am curious what conclusions you draw other than what is suggested by the headline if, as you suggest, the Expansion Draft exists to provide players for a new team to build a franchise around? If the Expansion Draft’s primary purpose is otherwise to simply provide a new team with a relatively affordable way to fill out its roster, how long, on average, do expansion draft picks remain with the team that selected them (this might go some way toward answering your question about the Impact)?

Also, do you have a greater sense about what happened to all of these players with lines through their names? Made available by whatever team originally had them for the Expansion Draft, did they mostly drift out of MLS? If not, how likely was the expansion team that selected them to receive value by trading them?

Thanks again for making me think about something I hadn’t really thought about before.

Having only started following MLS with the introduction of the Union into the league, I’m not sure how much overall roster turnover there is throughout the league. It seems like outside of a couple of guys on each team, the rest are basically fungible parts. I wonder if you looked at a middle of the road team from 03-06 that had been around whether you’d see massive roster turnover. Basically, I don’t know whether this it’s because of the expansion draft or just a function of a league that encourages player movement.

While the players themselves may not fit the systems utilized by the managers, or be a benefit to the club on the field for other reasons, it certainly allows teams flexibility and gives them ammo to do other things.
LeToux and Harvey brought allocation money
Salinas and Moreno brough protection in the next expansion so other players wouldnt be picked
shavar thomas brought a draft pick
Migz brought cap relief
Myrie was used as an example after week 1
So while the expansion draft may not be useful for on the field results, it certainly allows a team some flexibility it may not have had otherwise.

Going through this list of players really shows how lucky the Union were with Seba LeToux.

Are the double-edged expansion drafts of 2004 and 2010 substantially different from the other individual drafts (in terms of results, the rules were obviously different) and does that impact what can be accomplished in them?

RSL won a championship in 2009, 5 years after expansion – was there anybody other than Andy Williams still there? Did they build around the draft? What was different about their approach?

RSL and Chicago are still the only two non-originals to win MLS cup (if you look at Houston as a continuation of San Jose rather than an expansion side). Does the expansion process actually create franchises capable of winning championships (or simply filling out markets)?

Miami and Chicago are the only two expansion sides to have captured a shield – neither of which are post-contraction expansion sides. Since 2004 (7 seasons) all SS winners have been orignial clubs. How many expansion clubs have a realistic shot at either the cup or the shield this year if you were to predict it now? Seattle? RSL? [extended pinky finger moving toward mouth] Chicago??

I’d be curious as to how long it takes for expansion sides in any american sport to integrate and compete annually. The Marlins and the Rockies might be the best example I can think of as clubs that have had success and contended. Panthers and Texans? ish?

I think the central question of your piece is separate from what I threw out there but its interesting to look at just the same. I would love to be proven wrong over the next few seasons by post contraction expansion clubs winning trophies.