The Whitecaps finally picked up a point in our final poll, and it came from me. After seeing them play in the Cascadia Summit, I’m starting to believe that they might not be as bad as many of us seem to think. It still seems like a stretch to see either of these teams actually making the playoffs though.
SB Nation MLS Power Rankings, Tier 4: At Least There’s No Relegation
| At Least There's No Relegation | ||
|---|---|---|
 | New England Revolution |  8% (5 out of 57 points) |
 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 1% (1 out of 57 points) |
Vancouver Whitecaps: The Grand Experiment
Like the Timbers, the Whitecaps have relied heavily on their former USSF-D2 players to fill out their roster. There are 10 former USSF-D2 players, nine of them former Whitecaps, already signed to the roster and six more players from their old team and their residency program are still in camp. But what is different about the Whitecaps is that while the Timbers have brought in plenty of players with MLS experience, there are only five MLS veterans currently signed to contracts in Vancouver. Of those five, only Joe Cannon and Atiba Harris have as many as 100 games of MLS experience. The rest of the roster is filled out with foreign imports and draft picks, plenty of whom will be expected to contribute right away.
The roster has taken a little longer to take shape than many would have preferred, but it now looks like it might be better than many of us had initially believed. It's still hard to see them making a run at the playoffs, but there's a clear foundation there. If the Whitecaps can even contend for the playoffs this year, it will be just another sign that there are many ways to build a roster.
New England Revolution: Shalrie Joseph
After eight seasons in MLS, there's no question that Joseph is one of the best two-way midfielders in the league's history. He's helped guide his teams to four Eastern Conference titles, has been named to four Best XI teams and been mentioned among MVP candidates on numerous occasions. At 32, he's obviously closer to end of his career than the beginning, but should still have a few more good years in him. This year, the Revolution will probably go exactly as far as Joseph can take them.
Some off-season acquisitions, most notably defensive midfielder Ousmane Dabo, and some developing talent should help relieve some of that load, but the man upon whom this team's fortunes most reside is Joseph. Unfortunately, it's not exactly clear how much of a role he'll be allowed to carry. The league is still reviewing an incident that led to his being arrested in Florida and even if he escapes further punishment, it marks the second straight off-season in which he's had a personal issue (last year, he spent time in the league's substance abuse program). If those incidents are truly behind him and he can lead the Revolution to the playoffs, this would have to be considered his greatest season ever.
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