MLS Crossbar Week One: New New New

The Major League Soccer season is upon us this weekend, and with it comes new excitement for supporters about their team and the league. 2017 is the league's 22nd season and one of its most anticipated yet. With two new teams, a brand new stadium, and a crop of new talent coming in the league, there is plenty to be excited about.

This is the very first edition of MLS Crossbar, the mostly weekly segment where the big games and storylines of the league will be discussed. This week's installment (New New New) will include predictions of who wins the Supporters' Shield, both conference's playoff teams, and the matchup and winner of MLS Cup 2017, plus a look ahead at the matchups for week one of the season.

Supports' Shield

For those of you who aren't familiar with this award, the Supports' Shield is given every year to the club that has the highest point total at the end of the regular season. Traditionally the winners of the Supports' Shield haven't faired super well come playoff time (last year's winners, FC Dallas, lost in the Western Conference semi-finals). In fact, only 6 out of the 21 winners have gone on to win the MLS Cup, a success rate of about 28.5 percent. The last winner to go on to also win the MLS Cup was the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2011. This year's winner, though, I believe has a great chance at winning it all. My pick, based on the fact that the team has an astonishing attack and plays in the weaker of the two conferences, is Toronto FC, last year's MLS Cup runner-up. 

TFC would become the first Canadian team to win the Supporters' Shield

Playoff Predictions: Western Conference

1. Seattle Sounders - Last year's MLS Cup champions return to make another hopeful run at the title. There was little lost from last year's squad, and they can only get better with the return of a healthy Clint Dempsey and the possible addition of Japanese international Keisuke Honda.
2. FC Dallas - The team that won last year's Supporters' Shield looks like another strong contender this year, especially after a 4-0 victory in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League last week.
3. Portland Timbers - Always a contender out west, the Timbers look to get back to the MLS Cup, which they won in 2015.
4. Vancouver Whitecaps - The Canadian club looks to keep pace with its Cascadia rivals and add its first MLS Cup with the addition of a proven goal-scorer in Mauro Rosales.
5. LA Galaxy - The Galaxy have lost a lot since last season, but they are still talented enough to compete for a playoff spot. 
6. Sporting Kansas City - Sporting KC always seems to find a way to make the playoffs, and this season doesn't look like it'll be the exception to that. 

Playoff Predictions: Eastern Conference

1. Toronto FC - The 2016 MLS Cup runner-up looks like it'll be just as strong, and is an early favorite to be the team to beat. 
2. New York City FC - NYCFC seems like 2017 will be its most talented squad yet and should give a lot of teams problems.
3. Montreal Impact - While Drogba is gone, this team made the conference finals last year and should be just as good.
4. New York Red Bulls - The Red Bulls have become a staple of the playoffs, and it seems like this year that will continue. 
5. D.C. United - The team from the nation's capital had a lot of early success in the league and is looking to restore the team back to its old glory.
6. Chicago Fire - The team may have been the worst in the league in 2016, but in 2017 it should be a brand new team that will be in a dogfight for the sixth spot against Philly and Atlanta. 

MLS Cup Final

2017 looks like it will have one of the toughest playoffs yet, but it looks like there are two teams that will be making the finals: Toronto FC and FC Dallas. Toronto just looks like too good of a team for anyone in the East to compete with. The Western Conference will be highly competitive, but FC Dallas seems built to make a run this year. Since I previously predicted that Toronto will win the Supporter's Shield, they will have the better record, so they will host the finals. While I believe that this will be a hotly contested battle, I have little doubt that Toronto will come out on top. 

This would be TFC's second appearance and FC Dallas's first.

This Week's Top Games

Loons vs Loonies (Minnesota United @ Portland Timbers) - Minnesota will be playing its first game ever and it will be in one of the craziest atmospheres in the league. 

New Galaxy vs Fresh Form (FC Dallas @ LA Galaxy) - FC Dallas is fresh off a huge victory in the CONCACAF Champions League and will have a new look LA Galaxy.

Canada vs Deseret (Toronto FC @ Real Salt Lake) - One of the league's top contenders in TFC will face off against a competitive team in RSL.

New Home vs New York (NYCFC @ Orlando City) - Orlando fans will be excited to witness the team's first game in its new stadium.

Hotlanta vs Red Hot (New York Red @ Atlanta United) - Atlanta will be making its league debut in front of its home crowd.

Wrap-Up

This will hopefully be just the start of some ongoing coverage of MLS action. Since this was both a season preview and the first of these posts, it was a bit longer than it will normally be. Please join us next week as we go over more of the league's biggest storyline's and the games of the week.