Defense

This is where the most improvement is needed, and Minnesota have made some effort to address that. Francisco Calvo was far from perfect last season, but has shown enough flashes that I wouldn't be surprised if Heath considered him to be the centerback around which the backline is built. Brent Kallman has been serviceable, but I think most fans would be rightly disappointed if another option wasn’t brought in. Jerome Thiesson possibly loses the starting spot to Mears, but with former Burnley man approaching 35 years of age I think there will be opportunities for Thiesson throughout the season as he could probably challenge Burch for minutes at left back as well. Bertrand Owundi Eko’o has a name that’s a lot of fun to type and also experience at both center and left back. Expect to see him rotate around a bit in preseason to see where exactly he fits in best.

Midfield

Man, there’s a lot going on here. Minnesota have done a good job shedding a few of their superfluous wingers. That leaves Heath with Kevin Molino, Ethan Finlay, Miguel Ibarra, Sam Nicholson, and Danladi (in a pinch) as wide options. I”ll hold my hand up and admit to scoffing at the price that was paid for a struggling Finlay, but he did very well for his new side and will rightly be first choice on the right going into 2018. As for the left, that’s a bit of an unknown at this point. Fans will be rooting for Ibarra to make that position his own next season, but he’ll face healthy competition from Nicholson.

Now, here’s where we don’t quite have resolution on next year’s team. It’s been no secret that Minnesota are courting a shiny new #10. If they can capture a quality player there, you’ll probably see Molino shift out left where he is at his most dangerous. This would once again leave Minnesota a little roster bloated with wingers, but nothing that can’t be carried for another season.

In the middle of the park you’ve got Sam Cronin, Colin Warner, and Ibson. Ideally you’ll be using Cronin and Ibson here again, with Ibson’s age (turning 35 around the all star break) being the only question mark. Ibson started last season on the bench, but quickly became one of Minnesota’s most important players. I’m not going to sit here and act like Ibson wasn’t prone to wander a bit and that doing such a thing didn’t occasionally leave his team vulnerable, but for somebody rumored to be old, he was certainly active last season (look at the graphic above!). He was second in the league for touches (93.82 p90), third in the league for tackles (110), and third in the league for recoveries (256). If Minnesota can add a productive CAM while keeping Molino and Ibson at or around last year’s levels of production, the Loons might be alright in the middle of the park.

Forward

Two words. Christian Ramirez. A lot of people were wondering if Superman could make the jump from NASL to MLS and he answered the critics with a resounding “yep”. The American tallied a club leading 14 goals while adding 3 assists. If there is any cause for concern, it’s a peek at his xG of 9.99 which shows he scored about 33% more than expected and that kind of return might be difficult to replicate next season. That being said, if Minnesota sign a talented #10, Ramirez is going to be getting a lot of service, especially with Molino and Finlay working from the wings.

Backing up Mr. Ramirez is our 2017 Rookie of the Year runner up (and he probably should have won it if we’re being honest) Abu Danladi. Danladi battled a few injuries last season but still managed to tally 8 times which is no small feat for a MLS rookie. Danladi is still young and his xG + xA p96 of 0.36 isn’t anything to write home about, but apparently it’s just about worth enough to write it in a blog post. Striker is one position that Minnesota should feel good about. Drafting Mason Toye, who was highly coveted in this year’s Superdraft, provides even more cover for the future. Good job on having good forwards Minnesota Loons.

2018 Prognosis

Hmm.... I mean, they aren’t going to win the league are they? I’m pretty confident ruling that out. Can they make the playoffs? That’s a much tougher question. They were only 10 points off that pace last season and San Jose made it with a -21 goal differential so I don’t think you can say never. Still, last year was a particularly underwhelming Western Conference, the other teams that didn’t qualify for the playoffs have also improved, and LAFC already looks reasonably strong on paper. It’s going to be a tough ask for the Loons, but in a league where you can get Zlatan Ibrahimovic for TAM, nothing is impossible. I think a postseason berth would be a wildly successful second season for them.

That’s the ceiling. What’s the floor? Well it’s the actual floor. Western Conference teams that were already a lot better than Minnesota have improved, and teams that were unusually poor last season have taken a lot of steps in the offseason to keep that from happening again. If Minnesota start the season with as leaky of a boat as they did last year, the sea won’t be nearly as forgiving this time around and they’ll sink without a trace.