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TFC Playoff Journey II 2026

It is conceivable that the player moves Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) has been making since last summer, with its Toronto FC franchise, is moving towards making the MLS playoffs in 2026.
In 2025, the Reds won just 6 of 34 games, with 14 losses and 14 draws, for a total of 32 points. It came as no surprise that TFC finished the 2025 season 12th out of the 15 teams in the Eastern Conference with just 37 goals scored and 44 against. While the goal numbers should have been reversed, it was easier said than done, given what seemed like very soft, high (DP)-priced forwards who, quite honestly, could not handle the MLS physicality and athleticism with their predictable style of play.

TFC Signs DP Josh Sargent

The long-awaited move came in July 2025, with the release of the two Designated Players (DPs), which, from our (SSR) assessment, was long overdue. Since that time, the club has been cleaning house, signing 13 players, including Josh Sargent, and disclosed the following day that the club has acquired centre-back Benjamín Kuscevic from Brazilian club Fortaleza Esporte Clube (Second Division) on loan for the duration of the 2026 Major League Soccer (MLS) season, with an option to purchase.

With more moves to come, it sets the stage for an exciting 2026 season for the Reds' supporters, since the last time MLSE was in such an awkward position of having to answer to the best fans in the MLS was at the end of the 2013 season.

 TFC was on a 9-year playoff journey upon entering the MLS in 2007, and it seemed like Déjà vu in 2026: Back then, Reds fans were annoyed by the team's dismal play and results; MLSE responded with the “Bloody Big Deal”, and we (SSR) began documenting the Club's playoff journey.

TFC’s  "Bloody Big Deal” was the signing of Michael Bradley and Jermaine Defoe to make the playoffs, but the only true definition was that the deal turned out to be bloody indeed.

Defoe left the city before the objective was met, and MLSE was left to clean up the mess, which, to their credit, they did well by signing Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco. And while the results were not immediate, they stayed the course until October 2015, when Toronto FC clinched its first-ever MLS playoff berth. The playoff drought ended under coach Greg Vanney, with a 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls on October 14, 2015.