Knighton Traded to New England

It's not entirely surprising, but the Vancouver Whitecaps have dealt Goalkeeper Brad Knighton to the New England Revolution, a few weeks after the club declined his option for this coming year. Goal.com first had the story, which you can read here.

It's a bittersweet exit for Knighton, who won the hearts of fans and looked like he could become 'The guy' for the club moving forward. Instead, he now joins the team that he began his pro career with back in 2007. The Revolution needed to fill a pretty big hole with the retirement of Matt Reis, and they've done just that with Knighton.

He may not have gaudy stats to back up his strong play, but when Knighton was in the net for the Vancouver Whitecaps, goal keeping was the least of their worries. However, with the addition of David Ousted, another Whitecaps favourite has fallen by the wayside. Really, supremely hope the Whitecaps management realize the blunder they made with Ousted; it ended up costing them Alain Rochat and Knighton, when both were strong contributors to the team.

Everything happens for a reason....Couldn't be more excited for what lies ahead :)

— Brad Knighton (@bbknighton) December 11, 2013

In any case, New England wins this trade by grabbing a relatively young goalkeeper desperate to prove he belongs in this league. No doubt some competition will be brought in and the position won't just be gifted to 'The Dark Knighton', but he gets an infinitely better shot there than he ever did here.

The 'Caps will be getting a conditional pick for 2015 back, and good for Knighton. Here's hoping he has a great career, just not against Vancouver.