Toronto’s playoff campaign began Monday in New York, er, New Jersey – and the Reds did not show indications that they would become just another historical footnote.

Well, that’s it. With the NASL regular season coming to a close this past weekend, we’re now at the final instalment of the Power Rankings for 2017.

So, as the JAMC drove through an ear-splitting main-set closer of “Reverence,” the bright lights reducing them to shadows on stage, I checked Twitter to see that, yes, the Whitecaps and Sounders had played to a scoreless draw.

If Saturday’s game in Miami will indeed go down as FC Edmonton’s final NASL match, or, gulp, last contest ever no matter the league, it was at least nice to see that the club’s all-time leading scorer added to his tally. Daryl Fordyce roofed a penalty kick in the 56th minute after he was brought down in the penalty area …

Yet, even though teams are constantly changing, fans and media often burden the current players with the anchors of the past. Case in point: Going into Wednesday’s playoff match against the San Jose Earthquakes, a lot has been said about the Vancouver Whitecaps having never won a post-season MLS match.

FC Edmonton got off to yet another poor start to a match, and the Eddies dug themselves a hole they couldn’t find a way out of.

To call the Impact head-coach job a poisoned chalice would be an understatement. Basically, the day you get hired, you get a cyanide capsule. 

Now, to USL. We stopped ranking minutes last week when the league’s regular season came to a halt. But, in the opening round of the playoffs, Canadian (and former TFC Academy) goalkeeper Darrin MacLeod shone for Swope Park Rangers.

But Saturday’s game felt different than any other home-season-ender. We don’t know what the future holds. Heck, we don’t know in what league FC Edmonton will play in 2018, or if the team will play at all. Instead of “see you next year,” the handshakes with the broadcast crew and the stadium regulars had a feel of “we’ll see you… sometime?”

But, Desiree Scott, who was one of 12 Canadians on the rosters of NWSL clubs this past season, and retired Canadian national-team forward Dr. Melissa Tancredi believe that there’s a good possibility we’ll see one and maybe two Canadian pro franchises launch soon.