In less than a month, the Canadian Premier League's eighth season kicks off, and the respective lineups that the league's eight clubs have meticulously assembled on paper will get the chance to show what they've got on the pitch.
This year's season brings no shortage of storylines, from exciting new signings, to returning players, to some of the league's biggest stars swapping clubs. It also, as always, presents a lot of exciting unknowns, which will begin to be answered starting on April 4.
Here is one pressing question facing each of the league's eight clubs that could define their 2026 campaign:
Who will score for Atlético Ottawa?
One of Atlético Ottawa's biggest strengths in a CPL championship-winning 2025 — the CPL-record 54 goals they scored — has become an area of potential concern just a few months later.
That's because 34 of those goals (roughly 63 per cent) were scored by players who have since departed the club. Most pressingly, the dynamic duo of Samuel Salter (a CPL-record 19) and David Rodríguez (nine in the regular season, plus two in a blizzard during the Final).
It didn't help that Ottawa were held scoreless in back-to-back games for the first time since Diego Mejia took over by Nashville SC in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup in February.
There are plenty of candidates to help in this regard: new striker Erling Myklebust, Richie Ennin (who missed the Champions Cup through injury), Jonantan Villal and Emiliano Garcia, among others. But filling those (Golden) boots is going to be a tall task.
Can Cavalry FC find more consistency?
While the 2025 season ended in Cavalry's third Final in three years, the path to get there was a little less straightforward than they would have hoped.
Cavalry, perhaps more than anyone else in the league, have always prided themselves on being the most consistent club over the course of a league season. As manager Tommy Wheeldon Jr. likes to say, "the table never lies".
So, Cavalry wouldn't have loved what the table told them when they finished 16 points behind regular-season winners Forge FC. The biggest issue? Consistency. Cavalry won back-to-back games just once during the final 21 games of the regular season.
Some of their strongest performances in 2025 were followed up by disappointing results. That has to change if they want to contend for the league title in 2026 and the addition of key leaders like Nathan Ingham and Amer Didić are with an eye toward re-establishing those standards.
Will Forge establish a new spine?
The CPL Shield winners haven't seen many departures this off-season, but many of those they did lose were incredibly important figures.
Day one players David Choinière and Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson, midfield maestro Alessandro Hojabrpour and 2025 CPL Golden Glove winner Jassem Koleilat are all gone. Essentially, one key starter in each area of the pitch.
How others step into those critical roles in Forge's spine will be paramount to their success this year. The early signs from the Concacaf Champions Cup were positive. In particular, Dmitry Bertaud looks to be the real deal in goal, and Antoine Batisse a stabilizing force at the back.
Can Halifax win the big one under Vanni?
It's hard to think of a much more heartbreaking end to a season than the one that the Halifax Wanderers suffered.
Leading twice in just their second-ever home playoff match against Inter Toronto, Halifax twice allowed the visitors to equalize, once in regulation and once in extra time. before losing on penalties in a marathon of a match with a lightning delay that only added to its excruciating nature.
To some extent, this has been the story of the club through seven seasons. They've been in big matches; heck, they were even in a CPL Final in 2020. But entering year eight, they are still waiting for that signature win, especially at home.
That is what new head coach Vanni Sartini will look to deliver in his first season. With a refreshed new group of talent, including 2024 CPL champion Marco Carducci, they are committed to giving Halifax fans the victory they deserve.
Can Inter Toronto take the next step to becoming contenders?
It's been steady progress for Inter Toronto of late. Making the playoffs in back-to-back years, and winning playoff matches in both, they are now a true competitor in the CPL.
This off-season, they went big, bringing in a strong cast of notable names, including former CPL Player of the Year Ollie Bassett, former Forge star Béni Badibanga, Mexican international Raúl López and the return of Canadian international Juan Córdova.
Now deeper and more experienced, Inter Toronto feel like a club primed to take that next step and really push clubs like Forge FC, Atlético Ottawa and Cavalry for silverware.
They were incredibly competitive last season, losing just once twice all regular season by more than a single goal. Now it's time to change that status to contenders.
Can Pacific shape up at the back?
After missing the postseason for the first time since the league's inaugural season, it was back to the drawing board in a lot of areas of the Tridents' approach this offseason.
But perhaps the most glaring was their defending, going from allowing just 32 goals in 2024, to a stunning 59 in 2025. That was the worst mark in club history by 13 goals.
The return of Juan Quintana, who missed most of 2025 with an ACL injury, will help, as will the signing of 24-year-old Joshua Belluz. But a return to the collective approach and commitment to defending that the team possessed just a year prior, is a huge factor in a bounce-back season for the Tridents.
Can FC Supra find an identity in year one?
Being a new club in any established league is a difficult proposition, but it has particularly proven tricky in the CPL's history.
The CPL's two previous newcomers, Atlético Ottawa and Vancouver FC both finished seventh out of eight in the inaugural season. Finding cohesion with so many new players, many of whom are new to the league or even the professional game, is a challenge.
Supra certainly have the advantage of a coaching staff and a core of players who are familiar with one another from their previous time with CS Saint-Laurent in Ligue1 Québec. But translating that to the next level, and integrating plenty of new players, is a whole other challenge.
Can Vancouver FC build on CanChamp mentality?
Vancouver FC won a league-low four regular-season matches last season. But especially in the back-half of the year under then-interim, now full-time head coach Martin Nash, they proved that they know how to get big results in a run to the Canadian Championship final.
That did extend to the way the team finished the regular season as well, going unbeaten in their final six matches of the season, including results against all five playoff teams.
Developing a strong defensive style that is incredibly hard to break down on its day, they showed flashes of its effectiveness in the Concacaf Champions Cup in February, even against Cruz Azul, one of the best teams on the continent.
Now it's about translating that over 28 matches, and hopefully beyond. But the Eagles have a clear flight path now.
