TUKWILA, Wash. - When the collapse began last fall, the Seattle Sounders went from MLS favourites to a crumbling club that obviously needed change. Its the byproduct of having an unrivaled fan base and expectations that anything less than a league title is unacceptable for management. "To be honest it was time. Every couple of years a team is going to have to go through changes to grow and you get a certain amount of time with a certain group of players, and if you dont win you change it," Seattle midfielder Brad Evans said. "Most of the time its your star players you try and change and bring them in with other well-known players around the league and thats just the nature of the game and thats the business part of it. It kind of is what it is and we did lose some big names and some very good players but I think weve brought in some great players to fill in the shoes. And I think the group is a little bit stronger." Seattle will go into the 2014 season with the same belief that anything less than an MLS title is not success. But theyll do it with a completely overhauled roster, the result of the slide at the end of 2013. The question of whether changes were needed stretched from the bottom of the roster all the way up to coach Sigi Schmid. Eventually, general manager Adrian Hanauer and majority owner Joe Roth decided keeping Schmid and remodeling the team was the path Seattle would travel. It wasnt a complete overhaul. Evans is still around. So is Lamar Neagle, Obafemi Martins and rising homegrown star DeAndre Yedlin. Midfielder Osvaldo Alsonso was rewarded with a designated player contract and Seattle is about to get its first full season with Clint Dempsey on the roster. But the names that are gone are notable. U.S. national team striker Eddie Johnson is now with D.C. United. Defensive centre backs Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Patrick Ianni are gone. Midfielder Mauro Rosales is now with Chivas USA. Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning is back in Europe. Its a completely new look for Seattle and only success on the field will determine whether the right choices were made. "Its not really up to me what changes we make on the roster but the new guys have been great and very positive," Yedlin said. "They are good players and Im excited to see what they can bring to the team." The additions made by Seattle arent on the same level as the move last summer to bring Dempsey back from Europe. But they could end up being more important. Up front, Seattle brought in veteran striker Kenny Cooper, along with Chad Barrett and Tristan Bowen. In the midfield, Seattle acquired Marco Pappa through allocation when he decided to return to MLS from Europe. Chad Marshall, who played for Schmid in Columbus, was acquired in a trade to anchor the middle of Seattles defence. And former Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei was brought in to compete with 41-year-old Marcus Hahnemann for the starting job. "It is pretty obvious the mentality they are going for," Neagle said. "They want to be more aggressive and a lot more pressure and I think the guys theyve brought in have that same mentality, so its nice. Its easy to get on the same page when you have similar guys on the field." While all the roster changes mean some sort of acclimation period, how Dempsey fits during his second season will be watched closely early in the year. His first few months with Seattle late last season were a disappointment as the American star recorded just one goal and one assist in his nine games. Getting fully entrenched as Seattles leader will be difficult this season as well with Dempsey likely getting called away for U.S. national team duties even before training camp for the World Cup in Brazil starts in May. Dempsey may not even be available for Saturdays opener after being called into national team duty for an exhibition match against Ukraine. "Were still getting to know each other. Were still getting to know what the tendencies are of each player, but I like the spirit of the team, I like their attitude," Schmid said. Discount New York Jets Jerseys . Head coach Randy Carlyle confirmed the news after the Leafs morning skate on Monday. Kozun was hurt during Friday nights home game against the Red Wings and did not make the return trip to Detroit for Saturdays game. New York Jets Jerseys Outlet . After just two league games in June, Toronto (6-4-1) will go on to play seven in July plus a friendly against Tottenham. Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opposition, meaning valuable points in the playoff race are on the line. http://www.jetscheap.com/141b-cheap-jachai-polite-jersey-jets.html . According the CSNBayArea.com, the 31-year-old suffered an ACL injury in his right knee on Friday when he collided with Anaheims Emerson Etem during a pre-season game. Wholesale New York Jets Jerseys .com) - Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points with nine rebounds in the Miami Heats 83-75 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Authentic New York Jets Jerseys . Or take a relaxing vacation somewhere warm. Brayden Schenn and Scott Hartnell scored, Ray Emery stopped 32 shots and the Flyers beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory.PHILADELPHIA -- A three-goal cushion was much easier for the Philadelphia Flyers to protect the second time around. Jakub Voracek scored two goals and the Flyers beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 Tuesday night for their seventh consecutive win at home. Two days after blowing a 4-1 third-period lead at Washington in a 5-4 shootout loss, the Flyers held this lead against the high-powered Capitals. "Up three, the guys talked about it and we couldnt let that happen again," said Matt Read, who had one of the five goals. "We took it as a 0-0 game, kept them on their heels. We had to do the simple things, the smart things." Mark Streit and Wayne Simmonds also had goals for the Flyers. Alex Ovechkin and Eric Fehr scored for Washington. "Its always hard to come back, especially in this building," Ovechkin said. "They got the lead with two goals and they just played safe. We had our chances but we didnt score." Steve Mason made 24 saves for Philadelphia, which evened its record at 15-15-4. The Flyers are 12-6-4 since an embarrassing 7-0 loss at home to the Capitals on Nov. 1. Theyll try to go over .500 for the first time this season Thursday night when they host Columbus. Down 2-1, the Flyers stormed back with three straight goals, including a pair on the same power play in the second period. First, Read scored his team-high 10th goal on a wrister to tie it at 2. Then Washingtons Tom Wilson received a 5-minute major and ejection for charging. Wilson sent Brayden Schenn crashing headfirst into the boards with a hit from behind. Schenn sustained an upper-body injury and didnt return, but the Flyers made the most of their 5-minute man advantage. Streit fired a one-timer from the left point past goalie Braden Holtby to make it 3-2. Voracek then sliid one inside the near post 72 seconds later for a 4-2 lead.dddddddddddd "Anytime you get a 5-minute power play, you have to make sure you get at least one," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. Capitals coach Adam Oates was not pleased with the call on Wilson. "Its a game-changing call which, which they call the way they think they see it," Oates said. "I cant do anything about it. Im also mad they dont get an instigator after that, because every single time we have one of our guys hit and a guy goes across its an automatic instigator to neutralize the play." Simmonds extended the lead to 5-2 in the third period. "We executed our game plan," he said. After a scoreless first period, Ovechkin got the scoring started 40 seconds into the second on a power play. Nicklas Backstroms pass from the far side of the net bounced off defenceman Nicklas Grossmanns skate, trickled away from Mason and went to Ovechkin, who backhanded it in for his NHL-best 28th goal. The Flyers answered 58 seconds later when Voracek took a pass from Braydon Coburn and skated in with Giroux on a 2-on-1 break. Voracek kept the puck and fired a wrister that beat Holtby to the stick side. "I surprised myself because I never shoot," Voracek said. "I always pass. Ive been that way since I was a kid." Fehr gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead in the second period when he scored on a one-timer off a perfect centring pass from behind the net by Troy Brouwer. NOTES: The Capitals recalled C Casey Wellman from the AHLs Hershey Bears. Wellman had 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 23 games. ... Voracek has five goals in the last five games. ... Washington had played to a shootout in its previous three games. ... Simmonds snapped a 10-game drought with the goal. 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