TFC Republic Weekly: December 1-7
The off-season continues for Toronto FC as it looks to strengthen its roster ahead of the 2026 MLS campaign.
Welcome to the latest edition of TFC Republic Weekly, an email newsletter that will land in the inbox of both paid subscribers and free members of TFC Republic every Monday.
This newsletter will look at what's in store over the next seven days for Toronto FC, and also get a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
Sean Johnson's future with Toronto FC still unclear
Will Sean Johnson return to Toronto FC next year or has he already played his last game for the Reds? It remains to be seen, but we could find out either way before the holidays.
Late last month, TFC announced they declined their 2026 contract options on eight players, including Sean Johnson who was coming off an MVP-type campaign this year. At the time, the club said it would remain in contract conversations with select players from the group with an eye towards signing them to new deals for next season.
While GM Jason Hernandez confirmed last week that defender Nathaniel Edwards and forward Charlie Sharp won’t be back (in addition to the already departed fullback Raoul Petretta), he also said that final decisions on the other option-declined players will be made soon.
“We've gotten some clarity with some folks and [are] still working on some others. I think [it’s] going to culminate in the short term around the corner … I think a lot of it will be buttoned up in the short term here,” Hernandez revealed.
He added: “Before the holidays would be a fair timeline, so I don't envision any of the competition we're having to drag on longer than that.”
Hernandez didn’t tip his hand as to which of the four remaining players will return for 2026, and when asked what the chances are of seeing Johnson remain in TFC colours, he answered with a succinct, “I don’t know.”
Johnson recorded seven clean sheets and enjoyed his best season for TFC this year since joining the team as a free agent in 2023. But the veteran was among the highest paid goalkeepers in the league ($1,063,125 US) and he turns 37 next May. Toronto also has backup Luka Gavran waiting in the wings and it could decide to go with the 25-year-old Canadian who earned $128,475 this season if it can’t negotiate a new deal with Johnson.
If Johnson isn’t inked to a new contract, he'd become a free agent and would be able to sign with another club, either in MLS or outside of the league, and Toronto wouldn't get anything in return.
John Molinaro
Reds' search for a new DP continues
Aside from dealing with Sean Johnson and the other option-declined players (defenders Kevin Long and Sigurd Rosted, and winger Derrick Etienne Jr), GM Jason Hernandez’s top priority this off-season is to sign a DP striker ahead of the 2026 campaign.
Toronto had the third worst attack (tied with Austin FC) in 2025 with just 37 goals, which was three fewer than it scored in 2024. Deandre Kerr (four goals) and the on-loan Ola Brynhildsen (two) were the only forwards to score multiple goals in MLS, underscoring the need for a new No. 9 with a proven track record as a consistent goal scorer at a high level.
“We have a short list as far as our DP target, and we feel really good about the list," Hernandez said.
"We would be misleading if we didn't say that the list can change … So, it's pretty fluid, but certainly we've done a lot of work behind the scenes to feel really good about our short list. And so, we're looking forward to the off-season into the next transfer window to see what we can do."
John Molinaro
Important off-season dates to remember for TFC
With TFC coming off a disappointing campaign, this off-season is one of the most important in club history. Club management will have to make a series of moves in order to improve the roster and set things right for the 2026 MLS campaign. With this in mind, here are some important off-season dates to circle on your calendar.
Dec. 10 – Free agency kicks off! MLS clubs can start engaging with players, other than their own, who are eligible for free agency. Free agency eligible players are out-of-contract and option-declined players who are at least 24 years old and who have completed a minimum of four years of service in MLS.
Dec. 11 – The MLS re-entry process kicks off with stage 1. Essentially, this applies to players who are at least 22 years old with one year of MLS service, and who are out of contract (or had their option declined) but are not eligible for free agency. Players who go into the re-entry process are eligible to be selected by another MLS team. Stage 1 and 2 of the re-entry process are conducted in the reverse order of the league standings at the end of the regular season, taking post-season performance into account.
Dec. 11 - The end-of-year waivers process begins. The waiver process pertains to players whose contract options were not exercised and who are not eligible for free agency or the re-entry process. The waiver process is conducted in the reverse order of the league standings at the end of the regular season, taking post-season performance into account.
Dec. 17 – Stage 2 of the re-entry process, which consists of MLS players who were not selected in Stage 1.
Dec. 18 – The 2026 MLS SuperDraft will consist of three rounds. The draft order is set by taking the reverse order of the league standings at the end of the regular season, taking post-season performance into account.
John Molinaro
CanWNT vs. Japan on Tuesday
The Canadian women's team faces Japan in Nagasaki on Tuesday (midnight ET/OneSoccer) in the second match of a two-game series between the nations. It's also Canada's final contest of 2025.
The Canadians (ranked No. 9 in the world) suffered a 3-0 loss to the Japanese (No. 8) on Saturday in a match in which it was largely outplayed. The defeat was Canada's fourth in a row, a streak that dates back to a July 2 loss away to the United States.
"We're in a really difficult stage right now. There's no shying away from that," Canada assistant coach Natalie Henderson said. "We certainly aren't a team that likes losing or wants to continue this run. We want to fix things and we're trying to fix things.
"I think there's some positives to take from today. But again, we have to make those positives more consistent."
Canada and Japan faced off 16 times at the senior level prior this window, including a 3-0 victory for the Japanese at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, the last meeting between the nations. Canada’s previous win over Japan came at the 2018 Algarve Cup. Overall, Canada has a record of four wins, four draws, and nine losses against Japan. The Canadians have just one win in their last eight outings (1-6-1) against the Asian nation.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Lazar Stefanovic is one of Toronto FC's brightest prospects. The 19-year-old centre back from Oakville, Ont., has risen up through the ranks of the youth academy and TFC 2 into the first team, but he has yet to fully break through with the Reds as Robin Fraser went with more experienced players this past season. How does Stefanovic feel about this? And what does he see in store for himself in the future? Look for my special feature story on Stefanovic later this week.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- A feature story on Toronto FC's player loan strategy.
- The fourth and final part of our "Toronto FC in 2025: Who was worth their salary cap hit" series.
- The weekly "TFC Random Thoughts" column.
- The fourth and final part of our "Toronto FC in 2025: The year that was in roster moves" series.
- A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
- Part 7 of our "TFC year in review" series looks back at the month of August.
- A feature on who could be the next TFC 2 player to graduate to the senior team.
- A video blog on Friday's results of the FIFA World Cup draw for Canada.
- The reader mailbag.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of the Canada vs. Japan match.
- And much more!
TFC Republic mailbag
TFC Republic will feature a regular reader mailbag column where I answer questions from subscribers about Toronto FC and Canadian soccer in general.
I'll answer the best questions submitted to me by TFC Republic readers, so feel free to drop me an email at jmo1897@gmail.com. You can also reach out to me via Twitter.
(Top photo by Lucas Kschischang/Toronto FC)
TFC Republic has a comments section! At the very bottom of every story, there is a feature where you can post your comments, so be sure to share your thoughts and views.
