Steve Yzerman, likely the hottest pending free agent in hockey, is amenable to being wooed by the Rangers to succeed Glen Sather as team president, multiple sources with knowledge of his thinking have told The Post.

Now hold on: This does not mean that a deal is done. It is unknown whether the Blueshirts have yet asked for or received permission from Tampa Bay to speak to Yzerman, who is serving the final year of his contract as an adviser to the Lightning owner after having stepped down last September as general manager. Such a request, if not yet made, will be forthcoming.

It does not imply the job would automatically be offered following an interview with Jim Dolan, the Garden CEO who is running the search in coordination with Sather, who on Thursday announced his retirement from day-to-day life in the hockey department.

It also does not mean that Yzerman, who will be sought by a number of teams looking for either a GM or a president of hockey operations, would necessarily accept an offer if one were presented. He will have choices.

But it does mean that Yzerman, who for months has been believed headed back to the Red Wings organization with which he won three Stanley Cups as captain and with which he later spent time in the front office before taking over the Lightning in 2010, has not ruled out coming to New York.

So consider the first hurdle jumped.

Yzerman, who was the executive director of Team Canada for the country’s gold-medal victories at both the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, has demonstrated an expertise in player personnel evaluation, contract negotiation and in roster construction while using the advantage attendant to running a team in Florida, a no-tax state.

These qualities alone make Yzerman, who tends to be on the shy side rather than brash and has never throughout his career been an especially media-friendly fellow, a leading candidate for the job that will be far, far more expansive than the one he mastered with Tampa Bay.

Yzerman and John Davidson, expected to be at the Garden on Friday in his capacity as president of the Blue Jackets for the Rangers’ home finale against Columbus, are believed at the top of the list of candidates to replace Sather.

Davidson is in his sixth year as Blue Jackets president after seven years in that position with the Blues. His contractual obligations are unknown. Sather told The Post on Thursday that the objective is to have a president in place by July 1, if not by the June 21-22 draft, which will be held in Vancouver.

Sather will move into the role as senior adviser to Dolan. Rangers head coach David Quinn, one game shy of completing his first year on the job, said prior to Friday’s match he would continue to solicit Sather’s advice regardless of his job title.

“I’ve only known Glen for about nine months, but certainly he’s been someone I’ve been able to lean on,” Quinn said. “The good news for all of us is that he’s not going anywhere. Obviously his responsibilities will change within the organization, but they certainly won’t change from my end of it. I’ll still be able to lean on him.

“We’ve talked about how to handle different situations, him and Schoney [assistant GM Jim Schoenfeld]. I talk to those guys daily. When you have guys with that kind of background, the success they’ve had, their knowledge and experience, it’s invaluable to someone like me.

“The success speaks for itself. I’m happy for him.”

Neither Mark Messier nor Wayne Gretzky is believed to be a candidate, but Brian Leetch, Dave Maloney and Brad Richards are former players who could merit consideration for the post.

Ryan Lindgren, who played three games for the Rangers in December and was recalled from AHL Hartford on Thursday, was in the lineup on the blue line Friday, bumping John Gilmour into street clothes. … Filip Chytil was sidelined for a second consecutive game with an upper-body injury that is also expected to keep the 19-year-old out of Saturday’s season finale in Pittsburgh.