Today D.C. United traded for Davy Arnaud, formerly the captain of the Montreal Impact and the former captain of Sporting Kansas City as well. United gave up an international roster spot for the 2014 and the 2015 seasons to acquire Arnaud; however, with the return of their international roster spot from the Portland Timbers this offseason, they will remain at the same number that they had in 2013. Arnaud is was the first captain in Montreal Impact history, and scored the first goal as well for the MLS version of the club. He did make $275,000 last season, which is somewhat of a concern; however, I would assume would be going down if United were willing to trade for him.

With the Re-Entry Draft coming up, teams can still negotiate with players and try to remove them from the process. However, I would assume that this trade means that D.C. United has no interest in attempting to re-sign veteran midfielder John Thorrington, who is about the same age as Arnaud. However, Arnaud has been a stalwart for his teams with a much shorter injury history than Thorrington. However, United is taking a bit of a risk trading for a player who battled concussions this season. For his part, Dave Kasper is quoted as saying:

"Davy is a versatile midfielder who has a wealth of MLS experience. He will add leadership on the field and in the locker room, and we look forward to having him as part of United."

It isn't the flashiest move, but it is the first step in the rebuild towards 2014. Let us know your thoughts on this move in the comments!