Protectinator Mark III

First they came for the Red Bulls and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Red Bull

Then they came for the Crews and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Crew

Then they came for the Sounders--
And there was no one left to speak for them

That is a real poem. And it makes you think.

It is the lot of playoff teams to be forced to think about losing players before the season is even over. After benefiting from a sweet, sweet expansion draft in 2009, the Sounders soured on them quickly when the Timbers, Whitecaps, Unions, and Impacts came to play. And just as in the Cascadia expansion, there will be two teams picking and the prospect of the Sounders losing two players.

As in years past, you can vote here for which players you'd like to see protected. Based on our best understanding of the rules, the Sounders don't need to protect and can't lose their HGPs, but theoretical HGP Tristan Bowen would need to be protected, since he's on the senior roster. And the protectinator doesn't enforce the fact that the three DPs are almost certainly required to be protected, but come on. If you don't protect any of those 3 guys you deserve a kidney punch. Also, it doesn't handle the rules for the number of internationals that can be protected, because those are complicated.

So with that said, make your picks: