This is the point in a season when good teams stop talking about momentum and start cashing it in. Toronto FC are not there yet, but they are at least giving themselves a chance — and Daniel Salloi has become a major reason why. With four games left, the playoff picture is still tight, but Toronto are no longer drifting through the autumn. They are chasing a wildcard spot with purpose, and that is a meaningful shift from where they were a year ago.
That does not mean everything is suddenly neat and tidy. Far from it. Toronto FC are still conceding too many goals, which keeps dragging the whole operation back toward danger. But the attack is improving, and that matters when a team is only four games from the finish line and staring at the margin between a late surge and another winter of regret.
Salloi has changed the tone of Toronto's run-in
Toronto FC made the trade for Daniel Salloi in February 2026, and the numbers now make the move look increasingly worthwhile. The 30-year-old has eight goals and seven assists, giving him 15 goal contributions in total. That is not the profile of a passenger. That is the profile of a player who has directly influenced games, which is exactly what Toronto needed when the pressure started to rise.
Last Saturday was another reminder of his value. Salloi came off the bench against Red Bull New York and scored in Toronto FC's 2-0 victory, with the goal coming in the 86th minute. Late-season games are often about nerve, and about having someone who can produce when the margins are getting smaller. Salloi did exactly that.
Robin Fraser has already pointed out that Toronto FC were in tenth place after 30 games, and that detail matters because it tells the real story of the season. This is not a club storming through the Eastern Conference. It is a club that has improved enough to stay within reach of the MLS Cup Playoffs, while still leaving itself too much to do. Their current position is better than last season's 12th spot, but better is not the same as safe.
And that is why Toronto vs Columbus now feels bigger than a normal regular-season fixture. Every point matters at this stage, especially when Toronto are still on the outside looking in. The gap is not impossible, but it is not small either. They need four additional points to climb into the playoff places, which means there is no room for a flat night, no room for a soft finish, and certainly no room for the kind of defensive sloppiness that has kept them under pressure all season.
The encouraging part is that Toronto FC finally have an attacking threat who can tilt matches. Salloi has not just added goals; he has added urgency, and that is often what separates hopeful teams from hopeless ones in the final stretch. The uncomfortable truth is that Toronto still look vulnerable. The more interesting truth is that they are at least giving themselves a puncher's chance — and in a race this tight, that is enough to keep the story alive.
So yes, the defence remains a problem. Yes, the margins remain thin. But with Salloi producing, Toronto FC still have a route into the MLS Cup Playoffs. Four games remain, and that is exactly enough time for this season to become either a rescue act or another missed opportunity.
