MLS commissioner Don Garber appreciates the notoriety legends like Steven Gerrard and Didier Drogba bring to the league, but feels it's more important to land players in their prime.
Speaking to reporters at half-time of Toronto FC's thrilling 5-2 win against Montreal Impact at BMO Field, Garber said signing foreign-born players like Sebastian Giovinco and Ignacio Piatti was more important to the league's continued improvement than aging stars nearing the end of their careers.
Gerrard, 36, spent the last two seasons in MLS with the LA Galaxy and never really made much of an impact with the club, taking time to settle in his first year and battling injury in his second.
Drogba, 38, made a splash in his first season with Montreal, scoring 12 goals and leading the team past Toronto in the playoffs before ultimately losing out to Columbus Crew SC in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Ivorian still managed to score 10 goals in 2016, but he was relegated to a substitute role for the most part by the end of the season by manager Mauro Biello.
Garber said: "When you have Gerrard and [Frank] Lampard and Drogba in your league it adds a lot of profile. But I'm excited by guys like Sebastian Giovinco. I'm excited by Piatti -- I think he's one of the best players in the league.
"I see Michael [Bradley] and Jozy [Altidore]. Getting young guys who are at their prime playing in our league is far more important than getting legendary players coming into our league at the end of their career. And I think we needed that a lot more [in the past]. I don't think we need that as much now."
Garber says he still sees a scenario where teams will sign older veterans from Europe and South America, but those acquisitions will be for different reasons than in seasons' past.
"[Teams] used to sign them because they thought they would help sell tickets. And now it really matters if they're going to help your team win. Because if your team wins, you have 36,000 people coming to your game. You don't need to get it artificially. But obviously it's been an honor to have those players in our league."
The commissioner was also asked about the latest developments with the U.S. national team, with former manager Jurgen Klinsmann -- a frequent and vocal critic of MLS quality -- being replaced by Bruce Arena for his second spell in charge with the Americans.
"Bruce and [U.S. Soccer president] Sunil [Gulati] are sitting with me tonight. It's great having Bruce back in managing our national team. We're all excited about sort of a new beginning for U.S. Soccer and, obviously very important games coming up," Garber added.
"Bruce has been a winner everywhere he's gone and he's certainly a legend as a coach in our country and we hope that he can qualify our country and we can be on our way to Russia."
ESPN FC writer Doug McIntyre contributed to this report.