Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe responds to the infamous 2F, 3D suggestion

Following comments made by former Maple Leafs employee Jack Han, where Han mentioned the possibility of Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe utilizing a soccer-style 2F, 3D line combination at various points during the upcoming season, Leafs media really took the proposition and ran with it on Twitter in recent weeks.

Han, a former assistant coach for the Marlies and Leafs hockey ops assistant, is very familiar with Keefe's tactics, and though Han has mentioned that he hasn't spoken with Keefe about potentially using this strategy, he wouldn't be surprised if the Leafs experimented with it this season, which begs the question: Has Keefe been thinking about potentially trying out a 2F, 3D lineup combination? Well, according to Keefe himself, a lot of people have been buzzing about the idea for nothing.

"No. It's not something I've given a second of thought to for this season's team," Keefe told TSN's Mark Masters on Friday.

It was a bit of an interesting response, in that the wording might suggest that he had considered it for last season's team - or that he might consider it for future teams.. but that may be grasping at straws.

I really don't want to get into too many hypotheticals, especially given how this team is built. Tying up as much money as the Leafs are on four offensively gifted forwards, it makes little sense to attempt something like this, considering the nature of what that would likely mean for the offense, which is one less winger to work with and a much slower pace than what they might be used to - not to mention the confusion that such a setup could cause in the defensive zone.

Nevertheless, the concept is interesting, provided that the team employing it is built the right way. This Leafs squad just isn't that team, and it's nice to know that Keefe recognizes that.

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