MLS Eastern Conference preview: Can anyone stop Toronto FC?

Toronto FC were kings of MLS last season, but can the Reds follow up their record-breaking year with another Eastern Conference triumph?

It’s Toronto’s league, and the other 22 teams in MLS are just living in it. While everyone in the Eastern Conference was playing catchup, the Reds got better. The onus is firmly on the rest of the East to stop Greg Vanney’s men from making their third straight MLS Cup appearance.

The good news, then, at least for those of you hoping for a different outcome this year, is that the Conference is insanely deep. Toronto were joined in the playoffs last season by NYCFC, Chicago, Atlanta, Columbus and RBNY and arguably only Columbus and Atlanta got worse.

The big story of the offseason was an influx of Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) that allowed teams to spend more on their offseason acquisitions or to buy down their DPs. Without this influx, Orlando and Philadelphia’s offseasons wouldn’t have happened.

The other main subplot of the season centers on the future of the Crew. With relatively few updates on their move to Austin over the winter, the team shed salary by shipping out familiar Justin Meram and Ola Kamara. The Crew’s biggest acquisition, meanwhile, was Gyasi Zardes.

Columbus seem destined to finish below the red line, but Greg Berhalter is an excellent coach and has proven that less is more plenty of times in the past. Will he be able to bring glory to Columbus amid the turmoil. Only time will tell.

The cream of the crop

Once again, all roads to the Eastern Conference crown go through Toronto. While the Reds lost some depth with the departure of Raheem Edwards and Steven Beitashour, their starting lineup got even better with the additions of Ager Aketxe and Gregory van der Wiel. That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the East.

Any lineup that includes Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco (not to mention Victor Vazquez) will score A LOT of goals. The Reds scored 74 last season, the most of any team this century, and Giovinco played in only 25 games. Toronto’s rivals can only hope to contain them; stopping them is out of the question.

If any team is going to beat the Reds it will be the their closest challengers from last season, NYCFC. Any team with title aspirations needs a proven goalscorer, and there are few, if any, better than David Villa. Villa is entering his fourth season in the league, and scored over 20 goals in his first three.

NYCFC’s second best player, Jack Harrison, left for England this winter, but the next man up, Jonathan Lewis, was impressive in brief cameos last season, scoring twice in 11 appearances. If the 20-year-old continues to develop, NYCFC should be able to lean on one of their Home Growns to replace Harrison.

The midfield will be rock solid with Yangel Herrera now a year older and wiser, Alexander Ring fully acclimated to MLS and Maxi Moralez one of the most underrated creative midfielders in the league. The best word to describe NYCFC is balanced. A Villa injury would derail the season, but outside of that, this is a team with no clear weaknesses.

Toronto and NYCFC are, once again, the clear favorites in the East, but a potential new challenger also emerged this offseason: Orlando. The Lions had a very busy offseason. Cyle Larin, Kaka and Giles Barnes are gone, but Dom Dwyer, Justin Meram and Sacha Kljestan should ensure the Lions don’t miss a beat.

While Orlando may have put their long-term future at risk by trading Tommy Redding to the Red Bulls, Kljestan is one the best playmakers in MLS and should link up well with Dwyer. The biggest question is whether he will be used as a number 10 or a winger.

If Jason Kreis can build a cohesive team with these quality pieces, Orlando can compete with the big boys in the East. That’s a big if, however. This could also lead to a flameout of epic proportions. The time is now for Kreis to show he’s still a top coach in MLS.

Ready for improvement

DC United

Bill Hamid has moved abroad and Bobby Boswell has retired, but DC United march on. The defense and forward positions leave much to be desired, but an attacking midfield that contains Yamil Asad, Luciano Acosta and Paul Arriola should offer plenty of excitement. DC will want to make their first (partial) season in Audi Field a memorable one, and if their creative players perform, Darren Mattocks and Patrick Mullins could score quite a few goals.

If DC are to succeed, however, “Bennyball” must die. Mucking it up in midfield and lumping the ball forward won’t work in the Eastern Conference this year, and considering their weakness in the back, the best defense for DC will be offense. Questions remain about this team’s identity, but it also has a free DP spot that can be used in the summer if things go south. There’s a lot to like in the nation’s capital this year.

Philadelphia Union

The addition of David Accam will play a big part in completing the Union’s attack, but the pursuit of Borek Dockal is what will decide how high this team’s ceiling is. Philadelphia were the final team to record a win to begin last season, waiting until May 11 to get their first W on the board. But even with the slow start, the Union only missed the playoffs by eight points.

A lot went wrong for the Union last year, but a lot went right, too, and those things can provide the building blocks for a playoff run in 2018. CJ Sapong became a star before our eyes, Jack Elliott looked wise beyond his years, Haris Medunjanin set the tempo in midfield and Alejandro Bedoya found the role that worked for him.

It’s a miracle Philadelphia were in playoff contention until the end of the season, but it shouldn’t be understated how good the second half was for the team as Bedoya and Medunjanin got going in midfield. The Eastern Conference is deep, but this team can finish anywhere between fifth and eighth in the conference depending on how the defense works out.

Taking a step back

Chicago Fire

Speaking of David Accam, the Fire face an interesting season having sold their star winger and not (as of this writing) replacing him. Unless Chicago pull a DP signing out of nowhere, they’ll struggle to replace a player who netted 14 goals and added eight assists last season.

Nemanja Nikolic was impressive in his debut season, scoring 24 goals and earning an MVP nomination, but he’s not the sort of player to create chances for himself, and will only receive more attention from defenders without Accam to occupy them.

Retaining Bastian Schweinsteiger is huge, while Dax McCarty remains as reliable a presence as ever in deep midfield, but without Accam, the Fire may struggle to break down defenses. Given the depth of the conference, Chicago look like the most likely playoff team from last year to miss out.

Atlanta United

Atlanta’s attack is really, really good, but losing Yamil Asad will be a bigger blow than it seems right now. The departure of Carlos Carmona is also big and Jeff Larentowicz will spend this season at center-back rather than in central midfield.

While Ezequiel Barco is a shiny new acquisition, he does nothing to help a defense that wasn’t good last year. Atlanta are set up to win games 5-4; that’s not a good way to play in a conference where the top defenses can hang with them.

If Atlanta sputter out of the gate, rumors about Miguel Almiron’s future could intensify, and a spot in the playoffs slip out of their reach. The Five Stripes set expectations high in their inaugural season, but it will be hard to live up to them.

Players to watch

Ezequiel Barco comes to MLS with big talent but also a big price tag, and big expectations. Atlanta paid $15 million to Independiente for the 18-year-old attacking midfielder, but his signing is the biggest risk an MLS team has taken in recent history. Tata Martino will have to balance expectations with development when it comes to Barco.

Gyasi Zardes is another player worth keeping an eye on, for very different reasons. He had a great preseason with the Crew but this is his final chance to prove he can be an effective target man in the league. With the Galaxy, Zardes was shuffled around various positions and never really figured it out. With the Crew, he’ll have every chance to prove himself.

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New kids on the block

Another important thing to watch will be the new coaches in the Eastern Conference. Remi Garde has been brought in to take over the Montreal Impact, while former U.S. international Brad Friedel will be coaching the New England Revolution this year. Both coaches have difficult tasks ahead, as they try to right the ship for underachieving teams.

Friedel will have the more talented roster in New England, but he also has a major headache to deal with in the future of Lee Nguyen. How that situation is resolved will decide what the Revolution can hope to accomplish this season. Nguyen has made it clear he wants out but the Revolution front office has also been steadfast in its resolve to keep him.

At this point, Nguyen has two choices: play and angle for a move, or sit out and possibly jeopardize his career. He’ll likely play this season and play well but New England must begin preparing for life without him. Neither Kellyn Rowe nor Diego Fagundez is number 10. The attack should be interesting for the Revolution but the defense and holding midfield pairing will leave much to be desired in Friedel’s first season in charge.

Garde comes into a Montreal team that finished ninth in the East with slightly different expectations. After sending Laurent Ciman to LAFC, the Impact will go into 2018 with Ignacio Piatti and Matteo Mancosu as their core, not good considering all three are on the wrong side of 30.

Adding Raheem Edwards could be a coup if he shows that he can produce as a starter. Anthony Jackson-Hamel is another member of the team that needs to show he can produce in extended minutes as well. 2018 will be a rough year for Montreal but the front office trusts Garde with the long-term vision of the club.