2016 MLS Season Preview: Colorado Rapids

With the MLS season set to begin on Sunday, theScore runs down everything you need to know about each team heading into the 2016 campaign. Here, we take a look at the Colorado Rapids.

For a team that once held the MLS Cup aloft atop its collective heads, the Rapids might be the team furthest away from ever placing a finger upon it again; marred by perceived front-office incompetency, head coach Pablo Mastroeni will certainly have his work cut out for him in the 2016 season as he tinkers with his new toys in a tough Western Conference.

There have been a lot of changes at the Colorado Rapids over the course of this offseason. The team has swapped out almost its entire attacking core and brought in a Designated Player in Shkelzen Gashi, while also picking up a few solid MLS-hardened pieces through a variety of trades.

But the Rapids also lost a lot of major assets, including captain Drew Moor, who joined Toronto FC after qualifying for free agency, and, coupled with the losses of a handful of other starters, the Rapids will take on a new look in the 2016 season.

They certainly needed one after a torrid 2015 campaign.

2015 season

Regular season: 10th in Western Conference

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Nuts and Bolts

• Head coach: Pablo Mastroeni
• Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
• Season opener: Sunday, March 6: San Jose Earthquakes vs. Colorado Rapids (Avaya Stadium) - 3 p.m. ET

Key Arrivals

• Shkelzen Gashi (acquired from FC Basel)
• Marco Pappa (traded from Seattle Sounders)
• Zac MacMath (traded from Philadelphia Union)
• Conor Doyle (traded from D.C. United)
• Eric Miller (traded from Montreal Impact)

Key Departures

• Drew Moor (free agent)
• Clint Irwin (traded to Toronto FC)
• Nick LaBrocca (option declined)
• Vicente Sanchez (option declined)
• Gabriel Torres (option declined)
• Michael Harrington (out of contract)
• Maynor Figueroa (traded to FC Dallas)
• Marcelo Sarvas (traded to D.C. United)

Player to Watch

The 2016 season could finally see the proper emergence of Dillon Powers, provided the 25-year-old central midfielder is given the kind of support needed to finally excel in his almost destined box-to-box role.

Offering both defensive and offensive qualities, Powers has been a consistent member of the Rapids since joining the club in 2013 as a rookie, making at least 30 starts in each of the last three seasons. He has been hailed by the club brass as a pillar of the team but was also dropped nine times from the starting XI last season as Mastroeni tried and tried to get his team right.

In the end, Colorado's successes - or failures - will fall on Powers' shoulders, as he is the anchor and the rock on which this team will build its foundations.

Keep an eye on: Shkelzen Gashi

Projected Starting XI

Season in a Sentence

So much of the Rapids' goal-scoring efficiency in the 2016 season relies on an unknown quality; Gashi is the club's big-name Designated Player and replaces Vicente Sanchez and Gabi Torres as the main influence in the core of the attacking midfield. If Gashi proves to be a bust, there's little by way of replacements for Mastroeni's already goal-starved side.