It appears Anaheim Ducks rookie general manager Pat Verbeek has a plan in place for three key pending free agents: Sign them to extensions or trade them.
Forward Rickard Rakell and defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Josh Mansonhave generated plenty of buzz ahead of the trade deadline. All three will be UFAs at season's end, so Verbeek will have some decisions to make.
"I think going into this, I'm looking at it like we could make the playoffs, we could miss the playoffs," Verbeek told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "At the end of the day, there's no guarantee I can get those three free agents back. I'm going to attempt to sign them, if it doesn’t happen, I just can't let them walk out the door free."
The Ducks have a fourth key pending UFA in veteran captain Ryan Getzlaf, but his contract contains a full no-movement clause.