Real Salt Lake: Coaches now study options for MLS expansion draft

SEATTLE — There was no time for rest for Real Salt Lake's coaching staff last night.

All 15 MLS teams are required to submit their protected list for 2010 Expansion Draft to the league by 1 p.m. (MDT) today. The Philadelphia Union join the league in 2010, and they'll begin assembling their team in Wednesday's expansion draft.

Real Salt Lake is allowed to protect 11of their 23 players. Generation adidas players who don't graduate from the program at the end of the 2009 season and designated players are exempt from the expansion draft and don't need to be protected.

RSL has three generation adidas players on its roster, but Tony Beltran and Chris Seitz both graduated leaving Alex Nimo as the only exempt player.

By league rules, Real Salt Lake must also protect three of its five international players.

There's a slim chance an RSL player could even be traded this morning. The league opened up a half-day trade window early this morning and it closes at 10 a.m. (MDT). After that, teams have three hours to formulate their protected list.

"That's just the way the league is run right now, and you can't worry about it.

It's a quick turnaround, there are some guys who definitely realize that their future is in jeopardy," said RSL defender Chris Wingert. "But that's just the way it goes. You've just got to be satisfied that you're playing professional sports for a living, and you're enjoying it. You just have to have confidence that no matter where you go you're going to succeed."

Philadelphia will be picking 10 total players on Wednesday, and existing MLS teams can lose a maximum of one player. Real Salt Lake has enough depth on its roster that it will mostly likely lose one player this week.

In last year's Seattle Sounders expansion draft, Real Salt Lake lost midfielder Nat Sturgis.

MLS WOULD LIKE MONTREAL TO BECOME 19TH TEAM: Major League Soccer would like Montreal to become its 19th team in 2012, if it can get a stadium remodeled.

MLS commissioner Don Garber said Sunday night at the MLS Cup title match that Montreal is a strong candidate for the next round of expansion after Vancouver, British Columbia, and Portland, Ore., enter the league in 2011.

The only existing, soccer-ready stadium in Montreal is 14,000-seat Saputo Stadium. That's home to potential MLS owner Joey Saputo's team in a second-division league.

Garber says the league is working with the government of Quebec to find a funding plan for the needed remodeling to Saputo Stadium.

Some cities that missed out on the 2011 expansion are considered candidates for the 19th and possibly 20th MLS teams. Those include St. Louis and Ottawa.

Garber has said he'd like to have three MLS teams in Canada.

Contributing: Associated Press

e-mail: jedward@desnews.com