The Rangers’ toughest decision as their big rebuild takes shape

At some point, the Rangers are going to have to declare. Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, Bogie, but probably sooner than you think. The Rangers are going to have to declare which of their veterans are keepers and which of them will go when Housecleaning II comes around in late February, if not at a much earlier juncture than the NHL trade deadline.

Clubs around the league will pick at the Blueshirts’ bones. The brigade of scouts attending Tuesday’s victory over the Panthers didn’t make a wrong turn into the Garden. It is neither a secret nor meant to be one that general manager Jeff Gorton is open for business. He isn’t the only one.

The Rangers want to procure more youth. They want to expand the prospect base so that their margin for error expands. They have a first-rounder of their own and they will have the 31st overall selection if Tampa Bay wins the Cup (if not, they will own the Lightning’s second-round pick). One first-rounder may not be enough to satisfy the GM.

Which is where Kevin Hayes comes in … or goes, however you see the future unfolding for the pending unrestricted free agent operating on a one-year, $5.175 million deal after he and the Rangers could not agree on a multi-year extension.

Mats Zuccarello is also months away from free agency, and so is Adam McQuaid. But it is Hayes who presents the most vexing issue for Gorton, because he has the greatest value on the market and on the ice.

How long does management and the coaching staff honestly believe it will take for the Rangers to be a legitimate playoff consideration? If it is longer than three years, then there is likely to be a wholesale event around the deadline. But if it falls within that range, if the real progress in structure and fight that have manifested themselves through the first nine games takes hold, and the authorities envision a quicker turnaround, then Gorton will have to declare.

Does the GM envision Hayes as part of the next core? If he does, it will likely come at the going rate of between $5.7 million and $6.2 million per for six years. If he does not, then it becomes a two-pronged question of when and for what in return for No. 13.

Hayes is here if I’m running the show. The steady escalation in the 26-year-old’s maturation from his dismal sophomore season has been striking, even if he remains an unrepentant Patriots and Red Sox fan. He spends his summers in the gym. He has responded to being called out and benched on the season’s first weekend. He is as receptive to coaching as anyone.

He still tends to slow things down instead of speeding things up, but he has been working at generating pace. Hayes has scored only twice, including once into the empty net against Florida, but he has been creating chances for himself and his linemates. Most impressively, he has been on for only one five-on-five goal-against, that in Game 3 against Carolina.

There are other considerations. The Rangers are deepest on the depth chart at center and left defense, needy on the wings and right D. Should a team offer a younger top-six winger or a top-four right D, then surely Gorton would have to listen. But moving Hayes as a rental for the generic late first-rounder-plus package does little to advance the franchise. Again: when does the staff think the team will be ready?

Thing, too, is that Hayes does not want to go and is not anticipating free agency. He has not put a hold on talks until after the season. Indeed, while per the CBA nothing can be done until Jan. 1, it would suit Hayes just fine if an agreement were reached on New Year’s.

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There had to be some semblance of relief after this…

“I’m watching this develop, and it would be cool to be here for this rebuild. I want to be part of the future,” Hayes told The Post on Wednesday, before the club flight to Chicago for Thursday’s opener or a four-game trip. “I’m going to stay out of it, my agent [Bob Murray] will do the talking, and nothing can happen until Jan. 1 anyway, but I would love for them to talk starting that day and get a deal done.

“It’s how I feel. I was looking around the city the other day and was thinking how this is what I know, the New York media, the New York Rangers, the New York fans, and this is where I want to be. I’m close to the coaches, the organization is great. This is a good formula for me.

“I try to be as honest a player as I can be and show people what they’re going to get from me every day.”