An offseason that has been much quieter than imagined for the Ducks still contains two important loose ends to be sewn up but the needle and thread appear to be at work on one.

Rickard Rakell is one of the two critical restricted free agents the Ducks must re-sign and his agent sent a promising signal that a new contract is actively being discussed with training camp still several weeks off.

“We are talking and I think we will find common ground for a solid agreement as I feel both parties seem to want that to happen very much,” Peter Wallen, Rakell’s agent, said Thursday.

Rakell is coming off his three-year entry level contract and the sides are certainly negotiating the center’s first one-way NHL deal that will give the center a significant raise following a 20-goal, 23-assist breakout 2015-16 season.

As the club’s No. 3 center, Rakell’s importance to the Ducks is magnified by the team’s lack of impact young forwards or difference-making prospects for the upcoming 2016-17 season. Nick Ritchie is the closest thing to the latter at this point.

Ottawa left wing Mike Hoffman signed a four-year extension averaging almost $5.2 million. Philadelphia and center Brayden Schenn re-upped for four years at nearly the same amount. Washington and forward Marcus Johansson avoided arbitration with a three-year deal at an average annual value $4.6 million.

Rakell would figure to come in under that, given he’s had just two full NHL seasons and his personal-best 43 points not approaching that of Hoffman or Schenn in 2015-16. But he’s younger – he turned 23 in May – and just tapping into his potential.

If the club bets on that, a multiyear deal around the $4 million annual range isn’t out of the question. Ducks general manager Bob Murray voiced his concern over long-term contracts earlier this summer but there would be one benefit toward going that route.

Betting that Rakell becomes a consistent 40-point or more scorer and locking him up for five years, for example, would buy up his arbitration-eligible years along with one of potential unrestricted free agency.

It could also give the Ducks cost certainty at a potentially lower rate if they can negotiate that, a key thing for a team that operates under an internal budget much lower than the salary-cap ceiling.

A two-year bridge deal is another option – especially when Rakell doesn’t have a whole lot of leverage right now. The Ducks would certainly get the center signed at a far more affordable rate but also run the risk of paying a lot more if he were to develop into one of their best players.

These are some of the issues that they also face with Hampus Lindholm, who remains unsigned and plays an even more important role as arguably their best defenseman and someone poised to become their blue-line bedrock.

Youngsters at his position are earning $5 million per year and the Ducks figure to pay Lindholm at least that to reel him in long term. The Ducks and Lindholm’s agent, Claude Lemieux, have plenty of comparables and the Red Wings just gave Danny DeKeyser $30 million over six years. Columbus inked Seth Jones to a six-year deal worth $5.4 million annually.

Lindholm and Lemieux also have the knowledge of the Ducks getting a four-year deal with Sami Vatanen done first. And Vatanen is getting paid $5 million in the first three of that.

In an ideal world, Murray would keep all his talented young players. Within the Ducks’ salary structure, of course. (“I want players who want to stay and be a part of this organization.”) Presumably, that meant Simon Despres, whose five-year extension now kicks in. Presumably, that meant Vatanen in June. Presumably, that means Rakell in the here and now.

Presumably, that didn’t mean Andersen but Murray always knew he had John Gibson in his pocket as the new No. 1 goalie. Every negotiation is different but Andersen, like Lindholm, went with Lemieux and he’s now in Toronto. He’ll be making $5 million per season.

Ultimately Murray may be facing this: Is he prepared to make Lindholm the team’s highest-paid defenseman and, if so, by how much? He’s got a bunch of them (and still needs a goal-scoring forward or two) but he doesn’t have a No. 1 in his pocket on this one.