FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – General Manager Michael Burns, head coach Jay Heaps and the rest of the New England Revolution’s technical staff have been racking up frequent flier miles in their quest to strengthen the Revs’ roster ahead of the 2017 season.
Burns revealed on Tuesday that New England’s brass have visited countries in Europe, South America, and the Middle East since the Revs’ season ended in late October, and while no deals have been struck as of yet, conversations are currently ongoing.
“We’ve been all over the world, really,” Burns said. “We’ve covered a fair amount of ground.”
As is typically the case with offseason acquisitions, Burns was reluctant to offer too many details on which positions the Revs are targeting, but consensus indicates that central defense is a significant area of need based on the current roster and a frustrating 2016 season from a defensive perspective.
What Burns would say is that the Revs aren’t looking to overhaul the roster, but rather add a few key pieces to the core returning for 2017.
“If I go back a few years, we were looking for a lot of pieces,” Burns said. “In the last couple years, we feel like we’ve gotten a little more refined and a little more position-oriented.
“There are a couple areas of the field that we’re looking to identify in terms of player acquisitions and strengthening our team. That usually tends to be a little bit better than when you’re looking for all the pieces. Because when you’re looking for all the pieces, you feel like you’re really far away from where you want to be. When you’re looking for two or three pieces, you feel like you’re a little bit more on the cusp.”
In addition to their ongoing discussions with international targets, the Revs also continue to have conversations with “some of” their out-of-contract players, while they’ll also test the trade market and analyze the players available in the upcoming Re-Entry Draft (Stage 1 is set for Friday at 3 p.m. ET).
Regardless of where the pieces come from, Burns and the Revolution’s technical staff know that key additions are required ahead of the 2017 campaign, which will kick off with preseason preparations in a little less than six weeks.
“We know we need to add to the roster, because 2016 wasn’t good enough,” Burns said. “We didn’t get to where we wanted to go, and with that, you need to make some changes. We’re in the process of all that right now.”
