Union trade Chris Konopka to Toronto; MLS abolishes Supplemental Draft

The Union have traded backup goalkeeper Chris Konopka to Toronto FC.

That is not surprising news, per se. Though Konopka was frequently listed among the possible substitutes, he hadn't played in any league games this year - only a few friendlies. He registered just one league appearance for the Union in 2012.

Indeed, one of Konopka's biggest moments in the spotlight came when he was named a Daily News Sexy Single earlier this year. He subsequently got in the Daily News again when word got out that he's dating Philly.com and Comcast SportsNet video presenter Maria Papadakis. That wasn't so long ago, which makes the timing of the trade a bit unfortunate. But with MLS' roster freeze deadline a few hours away, now was the time to make a move.

Konopka posted a farwell tweet:

The bigger news from the deal is what the Union got back in return.

(Don't get your hopes up. It's bigger for the MLS geeks than the Union's general fan base.)

Toronto FC gave up a third-round pick in the 2014 SuperDraft, which will be held here in Philadelphia in January.

I was confused when I saw this, because in recent years the SuperDraft has only had two rounds. There was a two-round supplemental draft after that, held by conference call instead of as late rounds in the SuperDraft stage show.

I've been told that the Supplemental Draft has been abolished, and that in 2014 the SuperDraft will return to a four-round format.

What does this mean for you? Mainly that if you go to the draft as a fan, you might spend more time in the room. I'm told that the format of the third and fourth rounds hasn't entirely been determined yet, but it sounds like everything will be on one day instead of spread over multiple days.

It also means that MLS has, once again, announced a roster rules change through a player transaction, instead of on its own.

This is how MLS unveiled the retention funds program to the public. It's also what sparked a minor furore in Toronto when Max Urruti was traded to Portland earlier this month. The Canadian Press reported that Urruti had been classified as a "League Designated Player," a new form of DP in which the league holds 80 percent of the player's rights.

MLS headquarters swiftly and loudly knocked down the "League Designated Player" concept. But there have been subsequent reports out of Canada, most notably by TSN's Jason de Vos, that the designation does exist.

I have a thicker skin about the league's lack of transparency than some others in the media. That's not meant as a knock against anyone at all - indeed, it may be a knock against me. I've become immune to a lot of this stuff from having covered the league for so long.

But it does get frustrating sometimes.