The Anaheim Ducks currently sit fifth in the Pacific division with 59 points and have been in and out of a playoff spot over the last month or so.

With the trade deadline only three weeks away, newly hired general manager Pat Verbeek has some key decisions to make on a trio of pending unrestricted free agents, Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell, and Josh Manson.

Verbeek told TSN's Pierre LeBrun that he has a plan in place for those three players over the next few weeks. If he isn't able to re-sign them, he'll trade them.

"I think going into this, I'm looking at it like we could make the playoffs, we could miss the playoffs," Verbeek said. "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."

Losing those three players would be big for the Ducks, but would also signal that the team is ready to move in a new direction with Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, Mason McTavish and Jamie Drysdale as their franchise faces.

Verbeek went on to add, "We've got a game plan, and we'll see if we can execute it over the next three weeks and in the next four months leading to free agency."

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