There seems to be a perception in North America that when a player is loaned out to another team, it is comparable to an exile and that the player is no longer in the plans of the original team. While this may be the case some of the time, it is not the case in many situations.
Beginning last season, the Vancouver Whitecaps began to employ the strategy of loaning out young, developing, players to teams outside of North America. In some instances, those loans were short-term or were simply for training opportunities. In other instances, such as that of Erik Hurtado, the loan is for the remainder of the season.