The Fire have begun their latest rebuilding project, and they could be going forward without two of their biggest names.
On Monday, they announced that former MVP Mike Magee is out of contract, and that the option for captain Jeff Larentowicz has been declined. If they don’t re-sign, Magee and Larentowicz will be part of the first MLS free-agent class.
The Fire also declined the options on Adailton, Jon Busch, Razvan Cocis, Greg Cochrane, Jason Johnson, Alec Kann, Lovel Palmer, and Chris Ritter.
The options were exercised on the contracts of Harry Shipp, Matt Polster, Patrick Doody, and Kingsley Bryce.
“History has shown that the key to having a successful team in MLS requires a solid nucleus of players who have been together for some time,” general manager Nelson Rodriguez said in a news release. “Returning Harry, Matt, Kingsley and Patrick and combining them with the players we already have under contract begins to move us in that direction.
“The players adversely affected are talented individuals as well, who we thank for their contributions to our club and wish well in their careers going forward.”
On Thursday, new coach Veljko Paunovic will meet the media at The PrivateBank Fire Pitch.
Looking for more
Entering Wednesday night’s game against Manitoba, the Wolves had lost three straight. The offense scored only three goals over that span, and they dipped to fourth in the Central division.
That didn’t please coach John Anderson.
“You saw some of the terrific plays we made earlier in the year. They’re not happening now,” Anderson told the media Sunday. “We’re squeezing the sawdust out of the fiberglass stick. But there were a lot of positives this weekend.”
Following Wednesday, the Wolves play Friday at Grand Rapids then host Milwaukee on Saturday.
