Trade deadline is ‘pink elephant’ that looms over Rangers

Right now, there is enough on David Quinn’s plate that it doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Rangers coach to start dealing with issues that are not imminent. But soon enough, the “pink elephant,” as he called it, will have to be addressed.

That would be the approaching Feb. 25 trade deadline, which has cast a pall over Quinn’s first season behind the Rangers bench. It looms incredibly large, as general manager Jeff Gorton is going to keep his word to the fans and continue this rebuild in earnest by looking for the best way to make his team good — in the future, not right now in some fantastical push for a meaningless wild-card spot that will only hurt it in the draft lottery.

That was reiterated by owner James Dolan, who made an appearance in Las Vegas for Monday’s practice before the Blueshirts were set to take on the Golden Knights on Tuesday night, attempting to stop a three-game losing streak that saw them outscored 18-3.

“I’m very happy with how the organization is organizing itself around development,” Dolan said. “We’re staying the course.”

So Quinn was left with a dressing room of professionals who are fully aware of the situation. They know their already-overmatched team is going to be further depleted in just about six weeks, but Quinn hasn’t felt the need to bring it up to them just yet.

“I don’t think as a team standpoint, we have to address it,” Quinn said. “We have to focus on the next day and the next practice and the next game. That’s all we have to do.”

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Of course, that’s far easier said than done. For one, Mats Zuccarello knows the likelihood of him being shipped out as a rental is almost a given. The 31-year-old Norwegian is on the final year of his contract that carries a $4.5 million salary-cap hit, so he should be a rather attractive piece for a club gunning for the Stanley Cup.

The diminutive fan favorite has already come to terms with that fact, and he has admitted to it affecting his on-ice performance.

“The last few weeks I have been too emotional about it,” Zuccarello told The Post’s Larry Brooks after a 5-0 thumping from the Coyotes in Arizona on Sunday afternoon. “It’s a tough situation, but it’s also no excuse for me. It is what it is. I know that.”

Being able to keep his team even-keeled during this stretch is going to be very difficult for a first-time NHL head coach. Quinn said he has spoken to Zuccarello specifically about the situation, and yet couldn’t temper the emotional downturn.

“I’ve talked to Zucc periodically about the pink elephant in the room and what everybody writes,” Quinn said. “He and I have had conversations regarding his situations. It’s been well-documented.”

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Kevin Hayes is another player with a lot on his mind, although it seems to be affecting his play for the better. Hayes, 26, was in the midst of his best season before a nagging upper-body injury was set to keep him out of the third straight game on Tuesday night. But he has raised his value to the point that a fair trade might not become available to Gorton, and might never become more attractive than signing him to a long-term extension.

That extension could have been signed as early as Jan. 1, but there is no rush from either side. If Gorton gets his doors blown off by an offer, he might have to take it — and if the first two games of this three-game Western swing were any indication of what life will be like without Hayes, then it is going to be a very bleak time for this group playing out the string.

Either way, at some point, the Rangers will have to deal with the inevitable changes. And as the days go by and that date gets closer, the chatter around the team will get louder and more frequent. That is both inside and outside the locker room.

Now may not be the best time for Quinn to address that. But the time is coming, sooner rather than later.