There can be no more meaningful endorsement of Ilya Kovalchuk than the fact the people who knew him best as a teammate or member of their organizations before he left for the KHL four years ago are interested in acquiring the dynamic 34-year-old winger from the Devils as he prepares to return to the NHL.

Slap Shots has learned the Blues (with assistant general manager Martin Brodeur), Maple Leafs (with general manager Lou Lamoriello) and Sharks (with coach Pete DeBoer and assistant Johan Hedberg) are among more than a half-dozen clubs who have expressed interest in Kovalchuk.

And yes, indeed, the Rangers are one of the those teams, though there are obstacles to work around in order to get the potential game-changer into a Blueshirt.

Let’s understand that Ray Shero has the upper hand at this moment, and the Devils general manager would need to get more back from the Rangers in a trade than, say, from the Blues or Sharks. Obviously the Devils would prefer to see Kovalchuk scoring goals out west than just across the Hudson. That is the reality as Shero deals with the perception of his fan base, if not his ownership.

But Shero can’t overplay his hand, either, because he essentially will only hold Kovalchuk’s NHL rights through July 1. If the Devils don’t deal Kovalchuk by then, he likely would return to Russia for a final season before becoming an unrestricted free agent next July 1, unencumbered at that point by his current status on the voluntary retired list.

So under this scenario, what could be considered fair value from the Rangers?

The young A- and B-listers — including Brady Skjei, Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes, Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich — are off the table. Derek Stepan is not going to be traded for a 34-year-old winger, and Rick Nash doesn’t make any sense from New Jersey’s perspective, though the Rangers almost certainly would need to move No. 61’s $7.8 million cap hit in order to accommodate what could be a $5 million-$5.5 million hit for Kovalchuk.

Then how about 25-year-old Oscar Lindberg, a legitimate candidate for a top-six role in New Jersey, if, of course, the Blueshirts’ putative fourth-line center is not selected by Las Vegas in the expansion draft?

Would the Rangers do it? It should be a no-brainer for general manager Jeff Gorton considering Kovalchuk’s game-breaking ability and forte as a power-play quarterback from the point. And if it would take tossing Nick Holden into mix, then by all means.

The Devils might be able to squeeze more from another team, but Kovalchuk could reject the trade and bide his time in Russia for one more year before signing with the Rangers as a free agent next year with New Jersey getting zero in return.

In other words, Shero has hand, but he had best not overplay it.

Slap Shots has learned several clubs have inquired about the availability of Rangers goalie Antti Raanta, who will be vulnerable to claim by Vegas.

But moving Raanta, who is one year away from free agency, would guarantee that the Rangers would lose someone else — likely Lindberg, Jesper Fast or Michael Grabner — in the expansion draft.

So Gorton would have to get value in return for the 28-year-old Finn that would compensate for the loss of the goaltender

and the player who would go to the Golden Knights.

If Raanta is not selected by Vegas, the dynamic changes.

Rangers have not told either Dan Girardi or Marc Staal to expect a buyout prior to the expansion draft, nor has management asked either veteran defenseman to waive his no-move clause, sources said. But that does not mean either possibility has been ruled out, because there essentially is no chance both will remain on the roster when training camp commences.

Even before Henrik Lundqvist crumpled to the ice in William Nylander’s excited embrace in Sweden’s gold-medal celebration in the World Championships, the King had sustained an isolated MCL sprain earlier in the tournament.

The four- to six-week rehab is not expected to impact Lundqvist’s summer training regimen or the goaltender’s availability to start training camp.

What could Nashville coach Peter Laviolette possibly have gained by creating a two-day shroud of mystery surrounding the identity of the Predators’ starting goaltender for Saturday’s Game 3 against the Penguins? What good could it have done estimable franchise netminder Pekka Rinne for Laviolette to state “Next question” when asked following the morning skate who would be in nets hours later?

What good could it have done anyone? Or did Laviolette think that the lack of clarity would keep Sidney Crosby and Evgeni

Malkin up at night?

More broadly, does anyone connected with the league recognize how infantile responses like that — hardly limited to Laviolette — appear? Coaches who, one after another, recite, “I don’t talk about lineup decisions”?

For what purpose do they think they’re at the podium, to issue prattle about their team’s great character? Seriously, could anyone imagine a baseball manager refusing to name his starting pitchers for the World Series?

It is bush league stuff.

Caught Gary Bettman’s press conference at the beginning of the week in which the commissioner’s byword was “parity.” Then a couple of days later I heard Adam Silver’s interview on WFAN in which the NBA commissioner’s byword was “excellence,” and doesn’t that tell the story?

Finally, for the sake of newly minted Islanders assistant Scott Gomez, let’s hope the players he coaches are more respectful of him than he was of some of his coaches when he played for the Devils and the Rangers.