Early Monday morning, the Whitecaps announced that the club had re-signed goalkeeper Joe Cannon and defender John Thorrington, while it had traded opening-day keeper Jay Nolly to the Chicago Fire in exchange for a first-round pick in the, ahem, MLS Supplemental Draft. That is, a pick which has a minute chance of actually cracking the Whitecaps’ lineup — as anything after round two of the MLS SuperDraft proper is a crapshoot.

And, Chivas USA put Canadian defender Ante Jazic on the list. Yes, Jazic is in his mid-30s, but he’d be a significant upgrade for many teams in the fullback slot. He has become a regular starter for the Canadian national side. And, while his age is an issue, it’s hard to believe that a national-team starter can’t be of some value to someone.

The Montreal Impact will be able to choose from several Canadian players in Wednesday’s MLS Expansion Draft.

Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Colorado guaranteed the Whitecaps would finish tied for the worst record in MLS with the New England Revolution. But, if you want to be picky, the tiebreaker in MLS is head-to-head record, and New England drew and beat the Whitecaps this season. So, by the MLS book, you can say that the Whitecaps finished with the worst record in the league.

Vancouver coach Tom Soehn’s return to D.C. certainly didn’t go as he would have liked. Chris Pontius scored twice for D.C. United and rookie Joe Willis saved the day in goal, as the Whitecaps fell 4-0 at RFK Stadium.

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon and, through a combination of inspired finishing, loose defensive play and some diabolical goalkeeping, the Whitecaps and Fire produced a six-goal thriller. The Whitecaps won 4-2 at Empire Field — and the Fire erased all doubt of who is the worst team in MLS at the moment.

Sometimes, you just have to wonder if artificial surface is preferable to temporary grass fields. Manchester City beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Monday night in their Herbalife World Football Challenge friendly at Empire Field. But the talk of the match won’t be the audacious strike from Shaun Wright-Phillips that gave Man City the win. It won’t be on an impressive …

Nick Soolsma's 54th-minute penalty kick cinched a 1-0 win for Toronto FC over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday night at BMO Field in a game that served as a dress rehearsal for Saturday's Nutrilite Canadian Championship final between these same two teams. At least, the Whitecaps saw it as a dress rehearsal. With several regulars left on the bench, it was clear that Vancouver was already looking ahead to the weekend.

The script was reversed on Saturday. The fireworks came early at Empire Field, and then the Vancouver Whitecaps and New York Red Bulls played out a tense chess match in the second half as the club drew 1-1. When the Whitecaps play at home, Canadian soccer fans have become used to seeing last-second comebacks, second-half momentum changes and thrills right before the final whistle.

But Thordarson decided to use Saturday’s date in New England as a chance to test his squad players. Striker Long Tan, who any Whitecaps fans would be forgiven for not remembering still played for the club, got the start with attack partner Omar Salgado, the teenager chosen first overall in the 2011 Superdraft. The Revs won 1-0, as Shalrie Joseph converted a penalty kick after Whitecap Blake Wagner was adjudged to have stepped on the foot of Rev Benny Feilhaber just inside the box.