It seems like a long, long time since the Seattle Sounders failed to advance past a plucky FC Dallas team in the Western Conference semifinals. Besting the LA Galaxy in those playoffs was a long time coming for Seattle, but it didn't do anything to satisfy the singular stated goal of the front office since taking home the Supporters' Shield in 2014: Win the MLS Cup.
GM Garth Lagerwey and the rest of the front office put a lot of eggs in the 2015 basket, spending nearly every dollar of cap room and allocation money available to bring in Erik Friberg, Roman Torres and Nelson Haedo Valdez in midseason, knowing that cap compliance would be a mess going into 2016.