TFC Republic Weekly: November 24-30
Toronto FC's off-season rolls along with questions over Sean Johnson’s future at the club still unanswered.
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...
Free agency looms for Sean Johnson, Derrick Etienne Jr
Wednesday, Nov. 26 is an important date on the MLS off-season calendar as this is the deadline for clubs to decide whether certain players will have their contract options exercised.
Toronto FC announced last month it declined its 2026 contract options on these players: Sean Johnson, Kevin Long, Sigurd Rosted, Nathaniel Edwards, Derrick Etienne Jr, Hugo Mbongue and Charlie Sharp. But TFC remained in contract conversations with select players from this group with an eye towards signing them to new deals.
In the case of Johnson and Etienne Jr, they would become unrestricted MLS free agents if they don't sign new deals by Nov. 26 and would be free to join one of the league's other teams and TFC wouldn't receive anything in return. At the same time, Toronto could still sign them to new contracts after this week's deadline.
Players must be 24 years old and have four MLS service years under their belts to qualify for free agency. So, in terms of TFC, this would only apply to Johnson and Etienne Jr.
The others on Toronto's contract option declined list – Kevin Long, Sigurd Rosted, Nathaniel Edwards, Hugo Mbongue and Charlie Sharp – could still re-sign with the team or go through the MLS re-entry process (more on that later) or sign with a non-MLS club.
Johnson enjoyed his best season for TFC this year and was widely regarded as the team's MVP. But he was also among the highest paid goalkeepers in MLS ($1,063,125 US) and he turns 37 next May, so he's not getting any younger. What's more, Toronto has Luka Gavran waiting in the wings after he backed up Johnson for the past two-and-a-half seasons.
Sources tell TFC Republic that the club has remained in talks with Johnson over a new deal. But can the two sides come to terms?
If Johnson agrees to a pay cut, he would likely want a longer-team guaranteed deal, which would push back Gavran taking over as the No. 1 goalkeeper. If they don't re-sign Johnson, the Reds would be letting a valuable asset slip through their fingers with nothing to show for it. Are they willing to let that happen? And for how much longer can they allow Gavran to sit on the bench before he pushes for a trade?
John Molinaro
Reds to open 2026 season with 3 road games
Major League Soccer released its full 2026 regular season schedule last week, revealing that Toronto FC will be on the road for its first three matches of the year.
TFC will kick off their 20th MLS season on Feb. 21 away to FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium. This marks the ninth straight year and 19th time in franchise history that the Reds will begin the campaign on the road. Toronto then plays Canadian rivals Vancouver Whitecaps on Feb. 28 at BC Place, followed by a match against FC Cincinnati on March 8 at TQL Stadium.
TFC will host the New York Red Bulls on March 14 in their home opener. It’s the first of nine consecutive games they’ll play at BMO Field, a stretch of home dates that ends on May 9 vs. Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. MLS said that in order to accommodate climate considerations, TFC’s weekend home matches in March, April, and May will feature afternoon kickoff times, which will be announced at a later date.
Toronto visits CF Montreal on July 16 and hosts its bitter rival on Oct. 10. It concludes the MLS regular season on Nov. 7 away to the Philadelphia Union on Decision Day. Notably, MLS will go on a break for the vast majority of the FIFA World Cup which runs from June 11 to July 19. TFC’s road game vs. Montreal takes place three days before the World Cup final.
After Decision Day, MLS will observe the November FIFA window before launching the playoffs which will be completely uninterrupted.
To see Toronto FC's full schedule, CLICK HERE.
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 Friday
Defender Vanessa Gilles will be back for the Canadian women’s team later this month after missing out on October’s international window through injury.
Coach Casey Stoney’s latest Canadian roster was released last week and among the 23 players selected for duty was Gilles, who picked up a muscle injury in her lower leg in a match while playing for her pro club Bayern Munich.
The injury meant Gilles, a 29-year-old from Ottawa, was ruled out for Canada for its international friendlies away to Switzerland and the Netherlands (both 1-0 losses) in October. But Gilles has recovered and is expected to feature for Canada when it faces Japan in a pair of friendlies on Nov. 29 and Dec. 2 in Nagasaki.
The last of Gilles’ 54 caps for Canada (50 starts) came in a 3-0 loss to the United States in a friendly in Washington, D.C., on July 2. The stalwart defender has eight goals and one assist since making her national team debut in 2019 and played a pivotal role in helping Canada win gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She was named Canada Soccer’s women’s player of the year in 2024, breaking captain Jesse Fleming’s three-year winning streak.
"It's really important [to have her back], not just on the pitch, but off the pitch. And her leadership. We really missed that last camp. We miss her ability to drive standards the way she does around the training environment and around the environment in general. So, it's massive for us to be able to bring her back in, especially against such a top opponent," Stoney said.
Canada and Japan have previously faced off 16 times at the senior level, including a 3-0 victory for the Japanese at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, the last meeting between the nations. Canada’s last win over Japan came at the 2018 Algarve Cup. Overall, Canada has a record of four wins, four draws, and eight losses against Japan. The Canadians have just one win in their last seven outings (1-5-1) against the Asian nation.
Canada is No. 9 in the current FIFA world rankings, one spot below Japan.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Djordje Mihailovic joined Toronto FC late in the 2025 season and only ended up playing in 10 games. But the Reds' new designated player ended up making an impact and provided a glimpse of what's to come as the club seeks to build the roster around the American international. Look for my special feature story on Mihailovic later this week.
Other stories that will be published later this week include:
- A feature story on Toronto FC's player loan strategy.
- A feature story on TFC 2 players who have graduated to the first team.
- Part 3 of our "Toronto FC in 2025: Who was worth their salary cap hit" series.
- The weekly "TFC Random Thoughts" column.
- Part 3 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 6 of our "TFC year in review" series looks back at the month of June.
- 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)
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