Good Friday morning Caps fans. Hope you all are having a great week and that the weekend is beckoning ever closer.

It is a bit quiet in Caps world these days, as attention shifts to the four players who will be headed to the World Cup and everyone else plans a vacation during their rest period.

Off the pitch, there hasn’t been much news for the Caps either, though some comments this week from government folks seemed positive.

Across the country, however, there is a bit of a sense of deja vu. CF Montreal executive Gabriel Gervais sounded a bit of an alarm earlier this week when asked about the future of the Stade Olympique, which is undergoing exterior renovations but is also in need of repairs inside.

Montreal was one of the clubs most screwed over by the switch to a winter schedule given the frosty climate there. Given that fact, it isn’t hard to see why the domed stadium would be important. Gervais noted, however, that the fate of that interior work was up in the air and is causing some uncertainty for the team.

Now this is probably a ploy to try and get the Quebecois government to pony up for more renovations. Montreal is simultaneously in a position where they have an ownership group that is more grounded locally and has put less into the club in recent years than Vancouver. While I wouldn’t put anything past Joey Saputo, the lack of an imminent sale means that team is in a very different spot than the one the Caps currently find themselves in.

But it was inevitable that once rumors about the Caps’ future started swirling, Montreal would be next behind, particularly given the team’s stagnant form in recent years. Still, this all comes from a similar fallacy: that MLS doesn’t need Canada. That isn’t true and deserting a good soccer town like Montreal (or Vancouver) would be a long term mistake. Real investment in CF Montreal is needed but that is a market that MLS should be leaning into, not running away from.

Things don’t seem nearly as dire in Montreal. But the language and stadium uncertainty is certainly familiar and brings back some ugly flashbacks to Axel Schuster press conferences from the early days. Solidarity with Montreal on this — hopefully this whole things ends with everyone getting satisfactory stadium solutions.

Shameless Self Promotion

Spencer dives into whether Liam Millar can carry over his club form to the Canadian National Team.

Best of the Rest

I don’t think Michael Bublé will save the Whitecaps but I suppose stranger things have happened.

The Canadian National Team will make Vancouver their World Cup base.

Former Whitecaps player Terry Dunfield is set to take charge at Pacific FC, though he won’t be on the touchline until after the World Cup wraps.

Who’d have thought that making it easier to watch MLS matches will mean more people tuning in?