Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all had a spooky Halloween and are settling in for a lovely weekend (with fewer spooks).

The MLS playoffs continue apace, with the Caps returning home to take on LAFC in game two of their playoff series. They will need a win to keep their season alive and force a decisive game three. After a decent showing in the first match, they will look to take the initiative and avoid what would be another disappointing first round exit.

But for the first time in awhile we don’t have any midweek action to catch up on, so I’m going to circle back around to a news item that first made the rounds earlier this month. According to Paul Tenorio of the Athletic, MLS is considering what many fans have been clamoring for for awhile: a switch to a fall-spring calendar.

The move would bring MLS in line with many (but not all) big leagues around the world and, perhaps more importantly as the league continues to grow, put its transfer windows in alignment as well.

The idea would be to make the shift at or around the 2026 World Cup, something that (hopefully?) would come alongside a suite of other moves designed to help grow the league on the heels of its biggest moment yet in North America.

You’ve probably read about this but, if not, there would be a five week winter break, a head nod to the large portions of North America which are not especially fun to play soccer in during December, January and February.

And therein lies the most obvious flaw in this plan. Unless you are banking on global warming making Montreal, Minneapolis, Boston and a half dozen other cities comfortable during the winter months (which we can’t rule out in a couple of decades), this would have the effect of cratering fan interest in most of those markets.

While Vancouver currently has a domed stadium, it might not forever. And while Vancouver certainly isn’t Montreal, I could see February games being seriously unfun for fans (particularly if they are competing with the Canucks, assuming they ever get to be competitive). The Canadian Championship also could turn into a mess if the Canadian Premier League doesn’t alter its schedule (and, frankly, why would it?).

I don’t fault MLS for trying to make this move, which would be a big one from a transfer standpoint (we saw the inconveniences the transfer window awkwardness created last year). And I could see an argument that this would increase fan interest by moving the regular season run in and playoffs from a time dominated by football to one that is pretty quiet (before the NBA and NHL postseasons).

But I just can’t see the weather issue being overcome, particularly given how crucial matchday revenue and interest is for the league. Maybe you could extend the winter break by playing Leagues Cup in the southern United States. Or perhaps a Clausura/Apertura like format would meld the best of both worlds.

But as anyone who watched national team games in Edmonton and Minneapolis during the last World Cup qualifying cycle can tell you, the quality and safety of games will suffer under this proposal, with little clear financial benefit. Sure, I can see an argument for making the CSOs jobs easier. And this could help address my longstanding gripe about MLS playing through international breaks. But those don’t outweigh the bigger problem here.

It will be interesting to see how MLS handles this moving forward. It sounds like from Paul’s reporting this is far from a done deal but is something that the league is taking seriously. The devil is always in the details but, for now, color me skeptical this could ever be a workable move.

Best of the Rest

A look ahead to that do-or-die playoff second leg on Sunday evening.

A look at how Montreal’s Caden Clark revived his career and became one of MLS’ breakout stars.

In the shock result of the playoffs so far, defending champions Columbus Crew were blanked at home by the New York Red Bulls.

Take a look at the finalists for Canadian Premier League player of the year.