The faceoff has long been Greg Gurenlian’s lifeblood, and the 35-year-old isn’t ready to see it fade out of existence.

“Every two years, I have to deal with people who don’t understand our position talking about how it’s not fair that one guy has all this power over a game,” Gurenlian told US Lacrosse Magazine at LaxCon 2020 in Philadelphia.

The Friday morning of LaxCon, Gurenlian revealed his big idea on Twitter. Not just how to save the faceoff from extinction, but how to innovate the faceoff and usher in a new era.

An idea we’ll be introducing and discussing this weekend for the men’s game. The #DrawCircle. Incentivize FO men to pop it out to space quickly. Lessons the dramatic one sidedness of a dominant clamper. Keeps the integrity of the position. Adds a new dimension to the game. pic.twitter.com/AG17Gyo9t9

— Greg Gurenlian (@GregBeast32) January 10, 2020

If Gurenlian had his way, a circle around the faceoff X would replace the wings. Two players from each team would set up outside the circle with the freedom to move around.

For those asking themselves why this seems familiar: Yes, it’s essentially the women’s draw circle.

“I’m looking at the sport and I’m saying, OK, if we’re 20 yards away from the faceoff man on the wings and you can’t get to the actual faceoff in time for him to clamp, turn and exit, then what you have to be able to do is bring more guys to the party,” Gurenlian said.

“The women’s draw circle was a very smart way to do it. They don’t have wings. They have a circle, and that way adds variety to the exit.”

North Carolina women’s lacrosse coach Jenny Levy said she thinks it’s “cool that the men would take a concept from the women and then use it,” similar to how the women’s collegiate game implemented a shot clock and the men followed suit.

“It probably would be a good fix for what their problems are without eliminating the faceoff, something traditionalists of the game really like,” Levy said. “Thinking about getting rid of that to a more basketball style is an interesting concept, but I don’t think it’s what makes our sport unique.”

Trevor Baptiste, one of the preeminent faceoff men in the world, called the idea “feasible.”

“I think it’s a great idea, but at the end of the day, great faceoff guys are still going to be dominant,” he said. “It’d be interesting for the game, and I think it’d open a lot of doors for transition.”

Gurenlian, who said he hasn’t made a “full decision” on whether or not he’ll play in the Premier Lacrosse League in 2020, said he’d like to stay involved in rules discussions when his career comes to a close.

“Instead of letting [the rules committee] do something dumb, like get rid of the faceoff — which they already did in 1979 and it was a huge mess — let’s give them an idea and try it out,” he said.

“I feel very strongly about staying in and being part of this. Lacrosse has given me everything I have. I constantly want to make sure I’m helping. For me, if I quit playing, what I will move to is more of a role with the PLL, whether it’s the rules committee or doing commentary.”

He’s yet to make a formal pitch of his faceoff idea, so it’s not as if this is coming to the PLL (or anywhere else) any time soon. He called it a “natural progression,” and those on his social feed seemed to celebrate the concept.

“Any time you talk about the faceoff, usually it’s like a 60-40 reaction, positive to negative,” he said. “This has been like a 90-10 reaction, where 90 percent of the people are like, ‘Yeah, this is good.’”