Here are 8 Canadians at new clubs worth keeping an eye on ahead of the 2026 MLS season
It’s been another busy offseason in MLS, as teams get set for a landmark campaign, one that the league hopes will prove to be transformative and spark further growth.
With it being a World Cup year and the last full season before the league switches from a spring-to-fall to a fall-to-spring calendar, it truly feels like the next 12 months will be groundbreaking for the league, and for good reason.
For Canadian players within the league, that’s good news. Despite an influx of talent playing in Europe, MLS remains a key hub for the Canadian Men’s National Team, with several key players finding themselves in the league.
No matter if it’s young Canadians at the beginning of their careers, stars in their prime or older players looking to stay in form, MLS has remained a key place for Canadian talent to shine, and understandably so.
That will continue to be the case in 2026 and beyond, and that’s reflected in some of the moves that Canadians have made within and outside of the league this offseason.
To that point, here’s a look at eight Canadian players who have found new homes within the league, and why it’ll be worth keeping an eye on them this season heading into a World Cup year.
(For context, all eight players featured in a Canadian squad, either main or preliminary, in the last 12 months).
Dayne St. Clair (Inter Miami CF):
One of the biggest storylines for the CanMNT heading into the World Cup is in goal, where it remains unclear who head coach Jesse Marsch will pick to start the first game (and the rest of the tournament), as he’s remained split between goalkeepers Dayne St. Clair and Maxime Crépeau throughout his tenure.
Because of that, lots of eyes will be on St. Clair and Crépeau over the next few months, especially after seeing both leave to join new clubs in free agency this winter, with the pair ironically ending up on opposite sides of MLS’s Florida rivalry.
🧤 A Glimpse at Dayne St Clair in Practice at last!
— Franco Panizo (@FrancoPanizo) February 4, 2026
The Canadian shot-stopper — who started in Inter Miami’s two friendlies in South America — is seen in training with his new team for the first time.#InterMiamiCF #Messi𓃵 pic.twitter.com/xxC26chY1z
To begin with St. Clair, though, it certainly feels like the pressure is on him right now. Based on what we saw in 2025, he appears to be the favourite to start for Canada this summer, as he featured in nine out of a possible 14 CanMNT games, including five out of six competitive games.
Yet, while he’s done well to look more and more comfortable in the Canadian net, he’s yet to fully cement his status as the #1 starter - although part of that is due to the continued strong play of Crépeau in his Canada appearances.
What was undeniable, though, was that St. Clair had the much better club season in 2025, as he was named MLS’s Goalkeeper of the Year after an excellent campaign for Minnesota United, which is the other reason why he’s currently the slight favourite in the race.
Now, though, St. Clair will have to prove that he can continue to shine in a new environment, which won’t be easy to do, even as he joins a stacked Inter Miami side looking to build off winning their first-ever MLS Cup. Yes, he’ll be less busy than he was with Minnesota, who sat back and absorbed chances, but he’ll now have to handle the expectations of playing on a team like Miami, where the spotlight shines just a bit brighter on all of their players.
▪️ Led the league in save percentage
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 3, 2025
▪️ Career high in saves and shutouts
▪️ Sole goalkeeper in 2025 with a goals against average of 1.00 or lower and 75%+ save rate
What a season it's been for Dayne St. Clair! 💪 pic.twitter.com/kuLp3Hm7FN
In a sense, though, that’s not the worst thing for him. If St. Clair can succeed in this environment, that’ll help him in his quest to start for Canada, as it’ll prove that he’s capable of stepping up to the plate in the sort of high-pressure situations that Canada will be playing in this summer.
His margin for error will be low, however, with Crépeau right behind him, so he’ll need to make sure that he hits the ground running without much time to acclimatize.
Maxime Crépeau (Orlando City):
After how the last two seasons went for Maxime Crépeau with the Portland Timbers, his mission is simple now at Orlando City - to play regularly. Ideally, of course, he does that and plays well, but just staying fit and in form will be the bigger priority for him, if anything.
Less than two years ago, he was Canada’s #1 goalkeeper at the Copa América and seemed destined to cruise to a World Cup starting role, but his inconsistent club minutes opened the door for St. Clair to pip him, leading them to where they are now.
Maxed out between the posts 🇨🇦
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) January 6, 2026
We have signed goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau via free agency through the 2027-28 @MLS season ✍️
Because of that, Crépeau will just want to get back to playing regularly and establish himself as Orlando City’s #1, having made just 18 appearances for the Timbers across all competitions last year.
At the same time, though, it’s not as if Crépeau will be content with just playing - he’ll want to return to the heights he hit when he was at LAFC, too, when he was one of the best goalkeepers in MLS, something he just couldn’t do with the Timbers. For an Orlando City team recovering from the departure of Pedro Gallese, who was consistently excellent for them during his time at the club, they’ll be hoping that Crépeau can be a similar rock for a team that has big ambitions this season.
Able to play in multiple different systems, Crépeau should be able to seamlessly adjust to life with his new team, too, so look for him to shine early on, ensuring that he keeps his name in the race to start for Canada.
Stephen Eustáquio (LAFC):
There’s no doubt that Stephen Eustáquio will be starting Canada’s World Cup opening game if healthy, but it was worrying to see that the midfielder’s minutes diminish at Porto in 2025-2026, as he played just under 600 minutes in the first half of the season.
With there being no clear path towards earning more minutes at the club, that opened the door for an exit, and now, he finds himself in a very interesting position at LAFC.
Commanding the pitch 🇨🇦
— LAFC (@LAFC) February 6, 2026
Welcome to Los Angeles, Stephen Eustáquio. pic.twitter.com/pekiixo5Z7
While some will be disappointed to see him move to MLS when he could’ve potentially found a home at another solid European club, he joins an LAFC side that has big ambitions, giving them a key piece to rely on in midfield.
Plus, with the structure of his loan deal, which is only for the first half of the season, the door is open for him to still return to Europe this summer if he doesn’t like the situation he’s in, which is good flexibility for him to have.
Stephen Eustaquio ➡️ Son Heung-min ➡️ Denis Bouanga ➡️ 💥
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) February 18, 2026
The CanMNT 🇨🇦 midfielder starts his LAFC tenure off with this absolute dime to Sonny, who sets up Bouanga for the finish 😎#ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/5464qDpXZW
Because of that, look for him to have a strong few months, helping him regain fitness while ensuring that no matter if he stays with LAFC or goes back to Europe, he’ll be in the best position to capitalize on either opportunity - after he ideally has a good World Cup with Canada, of course.
One thing’s for sure, though - he should fit perfectly into this LAFC team, and his debut in the Concacaf Champions Cup offered a glimpse of what that could look like. 
Jacob Shaffelburg (LAFC):
A huge few months await Jacob Shaffelburg, who finds himself alongside Eustáquio and the other hefty Canadian contingent at LAFC after a few productive seasons with Nashville SC.
Traded for $1 million in GAM and add-ons, he’ll hope to find a good role at LAFC, as he was unable to fit in as well under Nashville manager B.J. Callaghan as he did under his predecessor, Gary Smith.
Jacob Shaffelburg is Black & Gold.
— LAFC (@LAFC) December 29, 2025
📝 #LAFC acquires forward Jacob Shaffelburg from Nashville SC in exchange for General Allocation Money (GAM) in 2026 and 2027.
➡️ https://t.co/oiOhRXl946 pic.twitter.com/OqzAVefiwg
He was still productive in his minutes in 2025, scoring four goals and four assists in approximately 1300 minutes of action across 29 appearances, but there’s no doubt that there’s more to come from him in his game.
Now, though, the big challenge he faces is to earn minutes in a stacked LAFC attack headlined by Heung-Min Son and Denis Bouanga. Already at a disadvantage after missing preseason as he recovers from groin surgery, it won’t be easy for him to drop in and earn minutes right away.
The good news is that he’s comfortable playing a supersub role, so it’s not as if he immediately needs to come in and start games, but ideally, you’d want to see him starting games regularly long-term.
Certainly, the CanMNT will be hoping he does that, because if not, it’ll be hard for them to find room for Shaffelburg on the World Cup squad. All of a sudden, the recent commitment of Marcelo Flores to Canada makes an already crowded winger position a little busier, and that could affect the role of someone like Shaffelburg.
Nashville SC win the U.S. Open Cup!
— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) October 2, 2025
Jacob Shaffelburg picked up a skillfully chested assist for Hany Mukhtar’s opening goal in the 2-1 win over Austin FC.
Nashville SC win the first ever pro sports title for Tennessee.
pic.twitter.com/U3xmkL35jw
Given Shaffelburg’s resume with Canada, you’d want him at the World Cup, as there isn’t a winger who can play as directly and stretch out games as a starter or off the bench like him, but he’ll need to find some form to prove he’s worthy of a spot, first.
Because of that, the pressure will be on for him to quickly find his feet at his new club when healthy, as he looks to prove that he has a role to play for Canada this summer.
Jayden Nelson (Austin FC):
One of the Canadian wingers that broke out in 2025 was Jayden Nelson, who turned a strong start to the year with the Vancouver Whitecaps into a regular role with the CanMNT.
Now, he’s firmly in the mix to crack this Canadian World Cup team, even if he had a quieter second half of last season, and he’ll hope this move to Austin FC can help him carve out his spot.
While he would’ve liked to stay with the Whitecaps, minutes were going to be harder to find there, so he made the sacrifice to join a worse Austin FC side, but one where he should play more often.
Certainly, given that Austin spent over $1 million GAM to acquire his services, you have to imagine that he’s a regular starter there, so it’ll then be up to him to show that he can take the flashes of brilliance that he showed for the Whitecaps and turn them into a bigger sample size. Given that he scored three goals and added 11 assists in just over 1700 minutes across 40 appearances, you can only imagine what he could do in a bigger role, in theory - but he’ll now need to prove that.
A Canadian International and rising star in MLS. 🇨🇦
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) December 18, 2025
Welcome to the 512, Jayden Nelson! pic.twitter.com/fICEw1fdCj
With his ability to run at defenders, he plays the exact way Marsch wants his wingers to, so you have to imagine that an in-form Nelson will have every chance of making the World Cup roster, at the very least.
Yet, that’s why Nelson made the decision to leave the Whitecaps, who wanted to keep him, as he wanted to prove that he could play a bigger role, which he’ll now try to do with Austin.
Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (New York Red Bulls):
Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty’s continued hunt for a permanent home continues, as the 21-year-old is getting set to play for his fourth club in the past two years after another trade.
This time, though, the former Toronto FC, CF Montréal, and Charlotte FC youngster will hope that he can find the stability he’s lacked so far in his career, as he gets set to play under former teammate turned head coach Michael Bradley at the New York Red Bulls.
After a solid loan stint with Charlotte last year, where he made 29 appearances and generated four assists (even earning a call to the CanMNT along the way), Marshall-Rutty should get the chance to shine with the Red Bulls, where his connection with Bradley, who he played with at TFC, should be quite valuable.
Three letters on the dotted line: JMR. Welcome to the Bulls. #RBNY | @OANDA pic.twitter.com/SpT4O4mVCf
— Red Bull New York (@NewYorkRedBulls) February 9, 2026
He faces a tough battle to crack a Canadian team that is pretty set at full back, but he proved last year at Charlotte that he is growing comfortable at that position, and he has the advantage of seeming fine at playing both left and right back, which can only help him long-term.
Plus, given Marsch’s well-known Red Bull connections, you can only imagine that Marshall-Rutty doing well for a Red Bull club could only be positive for his stock, so he’ll look to play well and at least keep his name in Marsch’s mind for as long as possible in the squad selection process. 
Jonathan Sirois (FC Dallas):
While Canada seems pretty set in goal, as it seems likely that one of Owen Goodman, Tom McGill or Jayden Hibbert claims the third spot up for grabs behind St. Clair and Crépeau, don’t sleep on Jonathan Sirois in that race.
After a year of rumours that linked him to clubs like Southampton and Anderlecht, he’s finally found a new home, as he was traded from CF Montréal to FC Dallas for a modest sum of GAM.
Adding MLS experience to the GK ranks 🧤🇨🇦
— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) February 2, 2026
We've acquired Jonathan Sirois in a trade with @cfmontreal! pic.twitter.com/JFpgIVbWBE
He’ll face a tough battle for minutes at his new club, as he looks to compete with Michael Collodi to replace the outgoing Maarten Paes, but you have to imagine that Sirois, who already has 89 MLS appearances at just 24, will have every chance at earning that starting role, given that experience.
From there, he’ll have to then light the world on fire for a few months, but that’s the reality of a goalkeeper sometimes - sometimes all you have to do is seize the right opportunity, and everything can change for you. Given that many were surprised that Montréal were so willing to let go of Sirois, who showed good flashes across his 100+ appearances for the club, he’ll look to prove them wrong for letting him go, while carving his way back into the CanMNT picture in the process.
Lukas MacNaughton (St.Louis City)
Lukas MacNaughton is set to play for his fourth MLS club in four seasons, as he’s found himself at St. Louis CITY after an uneventful season with D.C. United last year.
Having joined St. Louis as a trialist this preseason, he impressed enough to earn a contract, so he’ll now look to continue his surprise story and earn a starting role to begin the season.
If he’s to do that, though, his big goal will be to stay healthy. Across the last four seasons, he’s played just 76 games, and 27 of them came with Toronto FC in 2022.
Welcome to CITY, Lukas!
— St Louis CITY SC (@stlCITYsc) February 10, 2026
We have signed defender Lukas MacNaughton through June 2027 with a club option for the 2027-28 MLS season.
🗞️ https://t.co/9fQB5Eau8x pic.twitter.com/wiUQibODmu
When he’s been healthy, the former Canadian Premier League stalwart has been a strong option at centre back - there’s a reason why he’s continued to attract enough interest to stay in MLS - so he’ll now hope that he can do that with St. Louis.
With Canada’s growing depth at centre back, his odds of making their World Cup team are quite long, especially with the recent emergence of Ralph Priso, but a strong period of play could open the door for him to quickly climb the depth chart, opening the door for him to sneak in if there’s an injury (which isn’t out of the realm of possibility given Canada’s recent injury woes at the back).
