The Rangers are moving into Phase Two of the reconstruction process that commenced in February 2018. They are flipping draft picks, expendable because of the collection of selections acquired through prior trades for veterans, in exchange for young players such as Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba.

They are expected to dive into the deep end of the free agent pool when it opens on July 1, though there has been no final decision whether to pursue elite right winger Artemi Panarin at what will be a minimum (not minimal) cost of $77 million over seven years. Chances are good that they will. The Blueshirts, though, have no plan to extend a Group II offer sheet to Brayden Point, Mitch Marner or Matthew Tkachuk, all of whom might be gettable in exchange for the compensation of four first-rounders, but only at certifiably insane prices.

But before president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton close the book on Phase One, they must decide whether to extend Chris Kreider’s contract, which has one season to go at $4.625 million before he is eligible for unrestricted free agency, or trade No. 20 before the start of the season, if not ideally before the start of Friday’s first round of the entry draft so the team can snag another first-rounder.

And, with The Post learning that Gorton and the winger’s rep, Matt Keator, had not yet had a substantive conversation about numbers at least as of Wednesday night, the feeling increasingly is that The. Rangers. Will. Trade. Chris.

This decision would not be about subtracting payroll for next season in order to accommodate pursuit of Panarin and any other player or combination of players, though that is a necessity. That is among the reasons Group II free agent Pavel Buchnevich is available, and so too are Jimmy Vesey and Vlad Namestnikov, though the Rangers can’t simply unload a passel of high-minute forwards, dress a team of 22-and-unders, and expect the kids to flourish without significant veteran support in the room and on the ice.

It is not about next year for Kreider. It is about the six or seven that will follow at what surely will be for the ballpark price of $6.75 million per, perhaps higher. Kreider is a Blueblood, one of a mere three remaining on the roster — with Henrik Lundqvist and Marc Staal — from the 2012 Black-and-Blueshirt playoff march to the conference finals. He is part of franchise lore, too, joining the team fresh off the BC campus following its NCAA Championship victory to record five goals in that tournament. He has been a leader through this transition period.

But, and there is no question about this, last season’s second-half nosedive took its toll. It isn’t that Kreider’s production declined after the trade deadline, or even in the days leading up to Purge II, it is that it fell off a cliff the final three-plus months of the year. For after scoring 20 goals in the first 37 games through Dec. 29, Kreider recorded only eight goals in his final 42 contests.

Plus, and this is a significant part of management’s calculation, there were still too many nights on which You. Did. Not. See. Chris. There were too many nights on which he was not a physical presence, though he was always willing to go to the dirty area in front and battle. He has been in the league for six years, even though it seems like it has been twice that long. This is who he is, a streaky goal-scorer who is good for a base 25 to 30 a year with imposing speed and an intermittent powerful physical edge.

Since joining the NHL full-time in 2013-14, Kreider ranks 32nd among wingers in goals with 131 and in goals per game with .3. That makes him a legit first-liner worth a legit $6.5 million and upwards in the market. Even though he will be 29 when the new deal kicks in, he skates with a stride that should keep him among the elite for years, much like Patrick Marleau.

Still, the Rangers seem as if they are prepared to move on from Kreider. If that is the case, they will do everything in their power to move him before camp. About the last thing they want is Kreider playing on the final year of his contract. There is no stomach for Deadline Disruption III.

But Kreider’s trade value might well be compromised by his contract status. The Rangers clearly will get their best return from a team that is prepared to extend Kreider as of July 1. This is a reverse Jacob Trouba. It’s very unlikely Detroit would be willing to trade the sixth-overall pick for Kreider, who has played the last couple of years for Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill in the World Championships, but it’s worth an ask. Perhaps Buffalo, looking to augment its kids, would put the seventh-overall in play. Maybe Florida at 13, Arizona at 14 or Colorado with its second pick at 16. But probably not merely for one year of service.

So there is work to be done between now and Friday night. Or maybe the Rangers will go after a 2020 first-rounder without that time pressure. But, as the Blueshirts move into Phase Two, more and more it feels as if Chris. Will. Not. Be. Part. Of. It.