And, on Wednesday, the rumours became hard truths when MDS was named the new head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps. MDS signed a three-year deal, and will get the MLS chance that, well, a lot of Canadian soccer followers will say is long overdue. MDS is only  41, but with his track record, it feels, well, like he's been around forever, doesn't it?

It’s not unfair to say that the new coach will be needing to do what amounts to a full-scale rebuild. And, that might only be attractive to a marquee candidate if he knows he’s going to get the keys to the kingdom.

"Your whole front of the ship is in the ocean. At 19 years old, a guy from Toronto having this experience, I was terrified. You’re hoping the ship comes back up. It always does, of course.”

But, after a phone call with LAFC head coach Bob Bradley, MDS was convinced that maybe he could be an assistant coach.

The Ottawa Fury can likely make a long shopping list of Canadians, and on Wednesday the club announced the signings of fullback Maxim Tissot and centre back Nana Attakora.

For months, I've heard the whispers. Off the record. Throughout the echelons of Canadian soccer.

Several times during our phone conversation, new Ottawa Fury Nikola Popovic coach used the word “connection.”

Of course, when it comes to the Fury, Dos Santos still casts a long shadow. He was the team's first coach, and was the one who led them to the NASL final in 2015. And, it's impossible to look at Popovic without comparing his resume to Dos Santos's.

And the San Francisco Canadians, er, Deltas,  did it with the kind of gutsy performance that might make a certain hockey commentator known for flashy suits and big collars wonder if the team should just be up and moved to Kingston and entered in the Canadian Premier League.

For Dos Santos, who was just named the NASL’s coach of the year, Attakora’s drive is a representation of the team spirit that exists within the Deltas.