Well that was fun. I woke up to a text saying that Whitecaps FC defender Alain Rochat had been traded. (Shut up, I was on a night shift last night.) My good friend Jason was kind: he didn’t tell me who the Whitecaps had got back. Had I received those twin shocks at once, I believe I would now be trying to get brain matter out of the curtains. No easy task when your head has just exploded.

Let me get this straight: Martin Rennie has traded another fan favourite for draft picks, and he’s done it just one week after a heartbreaking Voyageurs Cup loss had many people were howling for his scalp? Wow. Nobody’s ever questioned the gaffer’s testicular fortitude, anyway.

My questions about the deal after the jump.

It is, of course, too early to fully analyze the move. Unquestionably, Rochat’s performance this season has been below the par he set last year, but that said the guy has been fairly solid since his acquisition. This is a man whose whose play at left back helped the Whitecaps throw down thirteen clean sheets last season. Perhaps a little patience might have been warranted before shipping him to the MLS equivalent of Siberia for a bag of cleats and some ball polish. As it is, they sold incredibly low on Rochat, receiving a guaranteed return of only a 2015 second-round draft pick. There’s a conditional 2016 pick in there as well, but we don’t yet know anything about the conditions, other than that they relate to how much Rochat plays for DC. If I had to guess, the Whitecaps will be compensated if Rochat re-signs there.

Here’s what we need to know in order to fully analyze the deal. Some of it, unfortunately, may never come to light. First, what is Rennie clearing the cap space for? This is nothing if not a salary dump. Rennie has cleared nearly $200K in cap space from one of the few positions where we have MLS-calibre backup in Jordan Harvey. If Vancouver brings in a top-end player who scores a whack of goals, or even if they use the space to bring in several MLS-calibre players to fill some of the glaring holes at forward and midfield, it will go some way to mitigating what looks to be a dreadful trade.

Second, were there off-field problems? Rennie has publicly commented on his left backs, saying they weren’t competitive enough on the road, and that he was approaching the point where he would no longer bother bringing them on road trips. Both Rochat and his wife were reportedly surprised by the trade, according to people who know them. (And don’t believe the drunken mutterings from the corners at Doolin’s: Mrs Rochat was not the other left back Rennie was talking about.) Dressing room dynamics are hard to assess and rarely disclosed, but if Rennie’s comments has soured the relationship with Rochat, it may have been necessary to get rid of him for the good of the team.

Third, is Rochat in a slump, or is he getting old and shitty? If he goes to DC and lights it up the way he did for much of his career in Vancouver, that hot seat Rennie was already sitting on is going to get very toasty indeed. If, on the other hand, Rochat’s mediocre play continues for the currently last-place side, Rennie may come off looking all right, especially if Jordan Harvey can silence some of his critics.

Finally, will Rennie’s record when dealing with fan-favourites be his downfall? Let’s just say that it’s not stellar. Sebastien Le Toux, who endeared himself to supporters in his short time here, was traded for no purpose. (It’s a little-known fact that No Purpose is actually Dane Richards’ middle name.) The Chiumiento transfer was a public relations disaster. He was moved to FC Zurich for an undisclosed transfer fee — one of the uglier off-field traditions in soccer — and Vancouver has arguably still not found a suitable replacement for the Swiss-Italian midfielder. Now we’re seeing an excellent fullback with a Canadian passport traded for a draft pick that’s 50/50 at best to result in a player who actually sees MLS minutes.

On the other hand, depending who Vancouver gets in the draft, the Hassli trade may end up looking very good. Hey, if Toronto FC continues to stink the place out every match, the Whitecaps will end up with the #1 overall pick. Hey, maybe that’s why monsieur Rochat is winging his way to the capitol. If he helps DC United clean up their disastrous back end, they might sneak past Toronto in the standings, and this essentially turns into a Rochat-for-first-overall-pick deal. If this doesn’t work out, however, and this is from someone who hasn’t been on the Rennie Out bandwagon yet, I can see this being a major contributing factor in the demise of Martin Rennie.