Rangers should only grant Vitali Kravtsov’s trade wishes for worthy return

Regarding the Rangers, who start the week sixth overall in the NHL and with a 5-3-3 record against the five teams they trail:

1. The Post has confirmed that Vitali Kravtsov’s camp has requested that No. 74 be moved ahead of the March 3 deadline if he is not a part of the club’s immediate plans. Saturday’s scratch in Carolina after having been reinserted into the lineup the previous night against Seattle following four straight in street clothes indicates that he is not.

This is not the time of the season that Stanley Cup contenders focus on development. Instead, these clubs begin to ramp up the pace as the stakes become clearer. There is more physicality and more play in the rink’s combat zones. Those who live on the perimeter will be consigned to the periphery.

That is the pool in which Kravtsov belongs. The talented and personable Russian plays on the outside. He does not win enough of the 50-50’s. He does not get to the net. His 200-foot game both with and without the puck remains suspect. He has not been able to carve out a role as a difference-maker, even for a night or two. His contributions diminished through a run of 17 straight games that ended late last month.

Kravtsov may become a chip that Chris Drury will play, but the GM has no obligation to accede to the winger’s wishes if the proposed return is deemed unsatisfactory. I would submit that dealing the 23-year-old, No. 9 overall selection of the 2018 draft in exchange for a fourth-line rental would represent very poor asset management.

In other words, Drury should just say no to dealing Kravtsov for Tyler Motte or Nick Ritchie or Garnet Hathaway and keep the winger unless he brings back a suitable draft selection; a different type of player of approximately the same contractual status (pending restricted free agent off entry level) such a Nashville’s Tanner Jeannot; or becomes an additional piece of a package that would facilitate a bigger deal.

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If such options present themselves over the next two-plus weeks, then by means, Drury should make the move. But if not, the Rangers should keep Kravtsov into the offseason and put him back on the market when a wider field of clubs would likely have interest.

The Kravtsov Saga is replete with unforced errors on both sides. Both parties are paying for Kravtsov’s refusal to remain in North America and start last season in Hartford, where he would have received hardscrabble experience that would have prepared him for life in the big leagues.

There is no reason at all for the Rangers to add to their side of this sorry ledger by making a hurried deal for the purposes of pleasing Kravtsov. (Plus, an injury or two up front and No. 74 would be next in line.)

2. Gallant has the Rangers playing their own playoff style throughout the year. The coach appreciates talent, but he does underestimate the necessary postseason components of checking, defense and jam. He chooses and uses personnel in relation to his comfort with a player’s 200-foot game with and without the puck.

That is why Kravtsov is not in the lineup.

Vitali Kravtsov is checked into the boards.

The Rangers are who they are. They are going to dance with whomever brung them to the dance, including supplements for perhaps both the fourth line and defense if Drury can swing it for reasonable costs up to the deadline.

3. The Blueshirts, though, have become more of a straight-line team than at any time since John Tortorella made his Exit from New York following 2012-13.

Vincent Trocheck’s addition has made an impact in that area. Barclay Goodrow spent the first half of the year demonstrating why he should be a top-six player. At least for now, he is on the fourth line. If that is where he remains, then the Rangers must bolster the fourth line so that No. 21 isn’t limited to 8:00 of even-strength ice time per.

And do you know who else has aided the cause? Jimmy Vesey, that’s who. No. 26 is playing the most consistently imposing hockey of his career. He has played himself into an important role. If Vesey were a free agent out of Harvard, at least 20 teams would be interested in him.