Martin Rennie looks to have built an offensive juggernaut. (Photo via Vancouver Whitecaps)

With the news of Sebastien Le Toux joining the Vancouver Whitecaps on a trade today. It has to, no, it must be pointed out exactly how stacked these Whitecaps are on offense.

Just look at these names currently on the roster (and in camp):

• Camilo
• Eric Hassli
• Atiba Harris
• Omar Salgado
• Darren Mattocks
• Davide Chiumiento
• Lee Nguyen
• Long Tan
• Sebastien Le Toux
• Etienne Barbara (not currently signed)

Holy smokes. Is Martin Rennie going to play six players up top in 2012?

A couple of those guys are more midfielders than strikers but they are worth pointing out here. And if the club signs Barbara – the NASL leading scorer from 2012 – that will put their striker force numbers close to double digits.

You have to think someone will be on the move today here. Either going to Philadelphia in the Le Toux deal or somewhere else to a team that needs a striker (hello Houston?).

Today is already shaping up to be a fun one huh folks?

Just a week or so ago it was Sebastien Le Toux on a plane to England to train with Bolton. Now he is back in North America and has been traded to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

No word yet on what the terms of the deal will be but the Frenchman just tweeted out that it is official.

Just got traded to Vancouver !Saddest day for me in my Philadelphia Union story.... Still can't believe it

January 31, 2012 9:10 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@SebastienLeToux

Sebastien Le Toux

One thing is clear, the Caps should have a tough offense this season. They have the depth up top to make many teams scared in my mind but someone like Omar Salgado may want to back his bags up as he is looking like a lesser needed player today than he did yesterday (someone like Houston needs to get on the horn to get him).

Kenny Cooper is moving east to New York. (Getty Images)

The draft day is here and the trades are starting to come in. This one, thanks to Fox Soccer, says that the Portland Timbers and the New York Red Bulls have struck a deal.

New York will acquire Portland Timbers forward Kenny Cooper. Separate Fox Soccer sources report the deal will send a 2013 first round draft pick and a large amount of allocation money to the Timbers.

With New York not picking until the latter part of the second round, the club had to make some deals to be active today. It is surprising to see them go out and get a striker like Cooper though with the likes of Juan Agudelo, Thierry Henry and Luke Rodgers on the team. I think this puts a greater emphasis on the fact that Hans Backe has little-to-no faith in Agudelo here and he could be gone for most of the season anyways with the U23 team.

New York trading another first round pick shows just how little they care about the SuperDraft as well.

Bobby Convey is headed to KC. (Getty Images)

You have to like what some clubs are doing right now. This week has been a big week of trades as clubs get ready for the First Stage of the Re-Entry Draft next week. Today another trade came down the pipe – and while others haven’t been as big – this one certainly has the makings of being pretty huge.

Sporting Kansas City has acquired veteran midfielder/defender Bobby Convey from the San Jose Earthquakes for an international roster slot.

Convey was headed to the Re-Entry Draft but teams could make deals up until a certain time today before things got locked down. There had been hints since yesterday afternoon that the club was close to making another trade. The club had already made two deals this offseason, getting Seth Sinovic from Montreal in exchange for Davy Arnaud and also picking up Pablo Nagamura from Chivas USA.

Convey’s price is a tad high but this is a bold move for KC that you have to like. Sporting was very close to making it to their first MLS Cup in a long time and the big issue that came up was their defense. Adding a big piece to the puzzle like Convey will certainly help keep them a favorite in 2012.

To date, Convey has scored 11 goals and added 30 assists in 164 appearances in Major League Soccer.

What do you all make of this deal for KC?

I had a sneaky suspension that Ricketts would get traded this winter or at least before next season by the Galaxy. It wasn’t a matter of him falling out of favor with coach Bruce Arena or anything like that. It was mostly because the club believes they have a strong core in Josh Saunders and even with backup Brian Perk. In my mind LA had the luxury of trading a fairly expensive keeper in Rickets like this too.

Montreal lands a top keeper here – who can be great – if he remains healthy. Getting a viable leader in goal is a great way to start an expansion club too. You are seeing Jesse Marsch and company put together a solid roster already (even if you don’t like how it has been done).

Ricketts ends his time in LA with 77 appearances — all starts — and a 39-16-19 record, making 226 saves, allowing 70 goals, and posting 27 shutouts in his three seasons with the club.

To me, both teams got out good in this deal. LA gets the likely much needed allocation money for the months ahead, while Montreal gets the keeper they really needed for year one.

The DeRo for Dax trade was one of the biggest in 2011. (Getty Images)

Each year I do season predictions and nearly every year I boldly state that a trade will shake up the season (take that with a hint of sarcasm if you will). Well, this season is just like many of the past where teams wheel and deal in hopes of bettering their playoff hopes.

I’ve compiled some of the best trades of the season and how they effected the league this year.

1. Dwayne De Rosario to DC United from New York Red Bulls for Dax McCarty – This is a good place to start, the DeRo deal round two. He was dealt from Toronto to New York back in April for Danleigh Boreman and Toni Tchani before heading to DC in June for McCarty. If DeRo can get United into the playoffs here this season this could go down as one of the best moves the league has seen in quite some time. It was a bold move for both sides but one that definitely had more of an impact on DC in the long run.

2. Jack Jewsbury to Portland Timbers from Sporting Kansas City – I’ve been a big fan of this move since day one. Portland got a captain and a leader out of this deal while Sporting picked up a little pocket change. Jewsbury has helped carry the Timbers to a playoff hopeful in their expansion season.

3. Andrew Jacobson to FC Dallas from Philadelphia Union – Another pre-season deal that was for allocation. Dallas picked up a player that definitely helped them go on a long unbeaten run earlier in the year. Before he got banged up in the summer, AJ partnered well with veteran Daniel Hernandez, a move that FCD had been looking for since losing Dax McCarty the previous year in the expansion draft.

4. Dominic Oduro to Chicago Fire from Houston Dynamo – We all laughed at this deal at the beginning of the year for the Fire but boy were we ever wrong about it. Oduro may not have the best finishing ability but for some reason he’s been able to make it work in Chicago. Without him scoring the Fire would not even be close to contending to be in the playoffs today. Just have to wonder what it would be like if this guy could actually finish more of his shots. I know Dallas, New York and Houston fans all wondered that as well.

5. Nick LaBrocca to Chivas USA from Toronto FC for Alan Gordon – This one ended up being good for Chivas in the end. Toronto once again gave up a player who ended up doing miles better away from BMO Field. LaBrocca was one of the key players for Chivas USA this season and could be a nice building block for Robin Fraser for next season.

6. Brian Carroll to Philadelphia Union from Columbus Crew – A small trade in some circles but most who know these two clubs know what kind of move it was for the Union. Carroll isn’t a player you think of right off the top of your head when improving your club over a winter break but for the Union he was an instant upgrade to the Union’s defensive midfield. He was a big part of the Crew’s couple year run that saw them as one of the league’s best clubs but when they decided to blow up the roster teams like Philly were smart to take note and snag players like Carroll.

7. Heath Pearce to Chivas USA from FC Dallas – Another strong move for Chivas USA and all they had to do was give up some allocation. People criticized Dallas for this move at the time but I think it worked out well for both ends really. Before his injury, Pearce moved into the middle of the defense for Fraser and helped keep the Goats in contention.

8. Brandon McDonald to DC United from San Jose Earthquakes – When DC was looking to make upgrades one of them was McDonald. This one could possibly be one of the more underrated moves of the season. He has helped a young defense become better, not great but better.

9. Maicon Santos to FC Dallas from Toronto FC for Eric Avila – One of the many, many moves made by Toronto this year. This one really worked for both sides. Dallas needed a striker and Toronto needed to unload Santos.

10. Juan Pablo Angel to Chivas USA from LA Galaxy – It was either retire or move across the hall for JPA. He was a spark on offense that the Goats needed but not a big enough one to get them into the playoffs.

11. Sanna Nyassi to Colorado Rapids from Vancouver Whitecaps – This was one of those post-expansion draft moves by the Caps. It ended up working out pretty nicely in the middle of the year for the Rapids as Nyassi and Omar Cummings really came together nicely when Conor Casey went down with an injury.

Other trades of note:

O’Brien White from Toronto to Seattle (this one would have gotten up on the list had White not been out most of the year)

Jordan Harvey to Vancouver from Philadelphia

Ryan Johnson to Toronto from San Jose

Arturo Alvarez to RSL from San Jose

Terry Dunfield to Toronto from Vancouver

Robbie Keane is set to become a member of the Galaxy. (Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Galaxy have reportedly agreed to purchase Robbie Keane’s contract from Tottenham for a reported £3 million, but the signing is not yet official. The summer transfer window closed on Sunday at 11:59 p.m., but Galaxy president Tom Payne said on Twitter that an announcement may come on Monday.

Obviously the deadline is tonight at 11:59 pm EST, but any announcement of player signings would likely be tmmw.

August 14, 2011 10:01 pm via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@galaxyprez

Tom Payne

This move also means that the club is close to trading Juan Pablo Angel. Some reports or tweets suggested Philadelphia, but others are now saying Chivas USA.

After initially turn down a potential move to Chivas USA, I'm now told Juan Pablo Angel approved a traded to Chivas USA late last night.

August 15, 2011 9:13 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@SoccerByIves

Ives Galarcep

Obviously the Galaxy had to deal JPA to make room for Keane. LA couldn’t have four DPs on the roster, simply because the league wouldn’t allow it.

Somehow it appears that Chivas is going to take on JPA’s salary for the rest of the year and use a DP slot for him. After passing on Benny Feilhaber and Freddy Adu in the league’s allocation system, if Chivas is indeed JPA’s landing spot then maybe we’ll see exactly why the club was holding out on all of that spending.

Though, it is tough to say right now if JPA will even come close to regaining his form this season. His three goals are a far cry to anything we ever saw out of him in New York.

Got to love the silly season. I’m sure we’re not nearly done with any of this by a long shot.

Lovel Palmer is headed West to play for Portland. (Getty Images)

The deals keep on coming in MLS. Today, the Portland Timbers acquired defender/midfielder Lovel Palmer, defender Mike Chabala and an international roster slot through the remainder of the 2011 season from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for midfielder Adam Moffat and allocation money.

A fairly interesting move for the two sides. Portland gains an international roster spot meaning they’ll likely be adding someone here in the near future, though it is possible it was to offset the pickup of Palmer. Both should be good cover for a defense that has been pretty shaky for the 2011 season. I’d imagine Palmer will move back to his more confortable spot in the defense on the right side. That’s been a weak spot this season for Portland.

The Dynamo unloaded some of their depth in this trade and probably look to pick up a big signing here soon. There are rumors that the Dynamo have received $150,000 in allocation money, nearly enough to cover the entire cost of a midseason Designated Player. Just something to keep in mind here as we move forward. We know the Dynamo are in the playoff hunt so adding a big piece to the puzzle could be exactly what Dominic Kinnear’s bunch needs.

Overall a fairly even trade today by the two sides.

Very, very interesting move for the two sides. The two main players involved Iro and Tchani get new homes, and possible some new life to both of their young careers. I’ve felt that Tchani was a good fit for Toronto since going there from New York back in the first Dwayne De Rosario trade but now that he’s going to Columbus here I really believe this will end up being his home for years to come. It is an offensive-minded deal for the Crew too as it gives them more stability in their midfield on the defensive side of the ball and helps add some offense. Tchani is great at holding possession and isn’t too bad at helping create chances as well.

Columbus also gets a guy that won’t count towards the cap as Tchani is a Generation adidas player. That’s good news for them should they continue to make deals here this summer.

As for Iro and Grittit, I really believe the move for Iro was coming sooner rather than later. He lost his starting spot this season and had really been unhappy about it. The kid still is a talented player and should help improve this dreadful Toronto defense right away.

What do you make of this second day of trades for Toronto?

Terry Dunfield heads east to now play with Toronto. (Getty Images)

Its been a day of trades for Toronto FC. The club has sent three players packing while picking up two new ones.

Where to begin you may ask? I suppose I’ll go for the bigger of the two. Toronto picked up midfielder and Canadian Terry Dunfield from Vancouver in exchange for allocation money and future considerations.

Interesting trade for both sides as Dunfield fit the Whitecaps and what they were doing pretty well but some say he did open himself up to getting traded in some of his recent games. It is interesting for Toronto too as he fits the Reds midfield in a weird way, and possibly not in a good one either. With all the additions Toronto has made in recent weeks, its a question as to whether or not he’ll really fit in.

The other deals that Toronto made today were with San Jose. It was a three for one kind of exchange as they sent forward Alan Gordon, midfielder Jacob Peterson, and defender Nana Attakora in exchange for forward Ryan Johnson, allocation money and an international roster spot.

Very interesting deal for both San Jose and Toronto. I like this for San Jose as Gordon will be a good addition to that club, same with Peterson and Attakora. Toronto landing Johnson is interesting. I’ve always felt he was good but hasn’t fully reached his potential here in this league. When he is on he can be extremely dangerous but when he’s off he is a tad worthless out there.

In all Toronto is making some moves but will they be good enough here is the question. You can tell they’re being proactive for this season and possibly building up their roster a bit for the CCL later this summer and fall.