First and foremost, the club must replace Keller. The Sounders have never had to go into a season without an established star behind them in goal, and it may be March before they fully realize how important that was.

The loss of two defenders on Wednesday suddenly moves an overhaul of the Sounders’ back line from optional to necessary.

The club also can hope that Zakuani and White will be productive by March, but it could be dangerous to sit out the offseason on that assumption.

Non-roster issues include the installation of a new FieldTurf pitch in February.

And the business side of the organization has about 2,200 new seats to sell because of the club’s decision to open the Hawks Nest section in the north end, increasing standard capacity to about 38,500.