MLS training camp preview: Biggest questions surrounding Canada’s teams   

Thirty MLS teams will begin training camp this month all with an eye towards building towards the campaign opening slate of games from Feb. 21-22  

For the Vancouver Whitecaps, training camp is a chance for them to get their bearings ahead of a busy start to the season that will see them simultaneously compete on two fronts. For Toronto FC and CF Montreal, pre-season offers their respective GMs the opportunity to bolster their rosters after troubled 2025 campaigns.  

Here are the big questions facing the three Canadian teams in MLS after they began their respective training camps this week.  

Can Whitecaps balance MLS and CONCACAF Champions Cup?  

As runners-up in last month’s MLS Cup final, the Vancouver Whitecaps were already facing a short off-season when it comes to returning to league action. But Vancouver’s early season MLS schedule is further complicated due to its involvement in the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup, the annual tournament that brings together the best teams from across North and Central America and the Caribbean.  

The Whitecaps will travel to Costa Rica to take on C.S. Cartaginés on Feb. 18 in the first leg of their first round series in the Champions Cup. Vancouver then returns home for its MLS season opener when it hosts Real Salt Lake on Feb. 21. On Feb 25, Vancouver will welcome C.S. Cartaginés for the second leg in their CONCACAF battle and then hosts Toronto FC in regular season action on Feb. 28.  

In case you lost track, that’s four games in two countries across 11 days. Should the Whitecaps get past C.S. Cartaginés (and let’s be honest, it is heavily favoured to do so), they’ll meet their bitter MLS rival Seattle Sounders FC in the round-of-16. Both legs of that series would take place from March 10-19, smack dab in the middle of the Whitecaps’ busy MLS schedule that will see them play three times from March 7-21.  

Things would get even busier for Vancouver should it advance to the quarterfinals, as both legs would take place in April when it already has four matches on its MLS schedule.  

It’s a potentially grueling schedule for the first three months that will test the physical limits and mental resolve of the Whitecaps, who’ll be looking to duplicate their sensational 2025 season that saw them win a fourth consecutive Canadian Championship and reach the finals of the MLS Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup.  

Will Toronto FC sign a DP striker before the start of the season?  

Toronto FC sported the third-worst attack in MLS last year (tied with Austin FC) with just 37 goals (down from 40 in 2024), marking the club’s sixth-worst offensive output in a 34-game season.     

Winger Theo Corbeanu was the team’s top scorer with a paltry six goals in 2025, while fellow Canadian Deandre Kerr (four goals) and Norwegian Ola Brynhildsen (two) were the only forwards to score multiple goals in MLS.  

Getting a new striker, either from abroad or elsewhere in MLS, who has a proven track record of scoring 10 or more goals per season on a consistent basis is the club’s top priority this off-season. The Reds simply can’t afford to go into the 2026 campaign with the same group of forwards; they need a new Designated Player to spearhead the attack.    

Last year’s MLS primary transfer window ran from Jan. 31 to April 23. Officially, MLS has yet to announce the dates of this year’s primary transfer window, but it’s more than likely going to be roughly the same time frame as last year.    

Toronto opens its 2026 MLS season away to FC Dallas on Feb. 21, so that leaves GM Jason Hernandez a little over five weeks to sign a new DP striker in time for the club’s first game of the year.    

“As far as the marquee attacker, we continue to do work in that space. I would say we’ve had several meaningful conversations with different targets, and so we’re hopeful that we can continue to do the work and certainly land on someone prior to matchday 1,” Hernandez said this week.    

Will CF Montreal give striker Prince Owusu some help?  

Last year marked one of the worst seasons in CF Montreal’s history – the Quebec club registered just six wins and 28 points, and one of the worst home records in the league.   

A big reason behind the team’s faltering campaign was a complete lack of offence. Montreal scored just 34 goals across 34 MLS matches. Only D.C. United (30 goals) had a worse offensive record than Montreal.  

What’s even more incredible is that things could have been far worse on the attacking end for Montreal if not for the heroic efforts of Prince Owusu. The German forward was outstanding in his first season in Montreal, bagging a team-high 13 goals – or 38 per cent of the total amount of goals scored by the club.   

The only teammate that came close to easing the goal-scoring burden resting on Owusu’s shoulders was winger Dante Sealy – the Trinidad & Tobago international chipped in with nine goals. But Montreal traded Sealy to the Colorado Rapids last month while also parting company with forwards Matías Cóccaro and Giacomo Vrioni who both underwhelmed last season.   

Thus far, the only attacking roster addition the club has made this off-season was the signing of free agent Daniel Ríos.  

“The arrival of Daniel Ríos broadens our options on offence. His experience in the league and his leadership will contribute significantly to the balance of our roster,” said GM Luca Saputo. 

But Saputo might be putting a lot of faith in the veteran Mexican forward who only had three goals in the 2025 regular season while on loan with the Vancouver Whitecaps. 

Owusu can’t do it alone; he needs some help up front. All eyes will be on club management over the next five weeks to see if they can bring in another striker (or two) to bolster their attacking options while also complimenting Owusu’s skills as a goal poacher. If they don’t, it could be another long, troubled season for CF Montreal.  

John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.