Is Clint Dempsey the X-factor Seattle needs to beat Toronto FC once again?

The 2017 MLS Cup final has been billed as Toronto FC's day of redemption, but Clint Dempsey won't be paying attention to the pregame chatter. For the 34-year-old Seattle Sounders star, memories of 2016 aren't entirely fond.

Last year, Dempsey was ruled out with an irregular heartbeat and could only watch from the sidelines as his team struggled to break down Toronto FC. He must have seen the spaces, passes, and chances he could have created or taken if only he was cleared to play. Instead, he waited, and waited, until he could finally celebrate an achievement he had no part in helping to realize.

A year on, Dempsey is back and ready to play a key part in deciding a winner at BMO Field, bringing with him a theme of personal redemption, too. When he was a younger man playing for the New England Revolution, Dempsey lost back-to-back MLS Cup finals in 2005 and 2006. It's a feeling he'll hope Toronto FC will know well by week's end, too. But can he be the X-factor Seattle needs to defeat the Reds again - and, perhaps, from open play this time?

There's no use pretending last year's penalty shootout didn't happen.

As the Sounders return to Toronto, both sets of players will be going through the minutia of that cold December night in 2016, when Seattle claimed the ultimate prize on penalties. In the aftermath, two themes emerged: the first, of Toronto's cruel twist of fate, and the subsequent need to exact revenge; the second, admiration of Stefan Frei's miracle save on Jozy Altidore's header, and doubts of merit, as Seattle failed to muster a single shot over 120 minutes.

Dempsey will want to shed Seattle's label as undeserving winners, and claim his first-ever MLS Cup trophy, too. He has the tools in his repertoire to do so. Playing in the No. 10 hole that Nicolas Lodeiro once occupied, Dempsey has a full array of passing options around him, with the Uruguay international now playing to his right, newcomer Will Bruin up front, and Joevin Jones to his left. Usually, players in this role rack up assists as they connect with the attacking options around them, but Dempsey boasts just five assists in 32 matches. Instead, Lodeiro and Jones have 12 and 11 apiece, respectively, with Dempsey doing the dirty work in setting up their key passes and crosses. Lodeiro delivers clinical final passes, but isn't anywhere near as direct as his American counterpart.

That direct route is where Dempsey thrives best - he ranks fourth in 2017 behind Nemanja Nikolic, Sebastian Giovinco, and David Villa with 116 shots, of which 39 were on target. It's safe to say Alex Bono will be tested at least once with Dempsey on the prowl, a factor that might very well have proved the difference last year. Dempsey's bread and butter is in executing chances, and he has a team-leading 15 goals this year for those efforts. To compare, that's around as many goals as Altidore and Giovinco each scored this season, too.

Something's still missing, though.

Rather, someone. Last season, rookie striker Jordan Morris was the talk of the town and his own "flu game" ended with a winner's medal. It capped the fairy tale, but this year, those roles have been reversed as Morris has been sidelined with a hamstring strain since mid-September. Losing Morris is a blow but not one that head coach Brian Schmetzer has rued so far. In Dempsey, he has a leader and an attacking mind forged over years of trials in the Premier League - experience Morris just doesn't have. Rookie phenom or not, there's no substitute for that big-game experience, which Dempsey boasts in spades.

All of these factors - a need for personal success and redemption, a style of play suited more toward attacking directly instead of passively, and experience at the highest level - make Dempsey a potential game-changer for the Sounders' cause. Win or lose, an icon of the U.S. men's national team will lift the MLS Cup, and if Dempsey has his way, it won't be Michael Bradley.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)