The Rangers have hit an expected lull in the action a bit past the midway point of this extended offseason.

The only outstanding business left for GM Chris Drury is finalizing Alexis Lafreniere’s next contract.

But there are questions as 2023-24 approaches. You have them and, believe me, so do I. But I will endeavor to answer yours before I reel off mine in the pages of The Post through the summer and into camp.

Here we go, with questions relayed from Sports+ members in the Texts from the Blue Seats text-message conversation with my colleague, Mollie Walker, who is on a well-earned summer siesta.

This is supposed to be the year Will Cuylle and Brennan Othmann, among other young players, step in. Why did Chris Drury feel the need to sign so many veterans?
— Leonard Solomon

I’m not so sure the organization has set that ETA on the two — what else? — left wings. The Rangers do not want to make the mistake of rushing Othmann, who, at age 20, will be entering his first pro season. The same thought process applies to Cuylle, who will be in his second pro season at age 21.

The veteran free-agent forwards to whom you refer — Nick Bonino, Tyler Pitlick, Riley Nash, Alex Belzile and even Blake Wheeler — can be sent to Hartford without adverse effect on the cap. In a sense, they are placeholders until the kids prove they are ready for the NHL.

I would be surprised if Cuylle is not in New York by Thanksgiving, at the latest, and I don’t think the Rangers will hesitate to promote Othmann if he excels in the AHL and there is a need for him in the top six.

If you could undo any one trade the Rangers executed over the past eight years (in either the Jeff Gorton or Drury era), which one would it be?
— Christopher Walkley

Look, we all acknowledge that the Ryan McDonagh-J.T. Miller trade to Tampa Bay at the 2018 deadline was botched in all sorts of ways.

I’ve never understood why there seemed to be so little interest in McDonagh, who at very worst would have been a two-playoffs and one full-season rental at the time, but even more so I never understood why then-GM Jeff Gorton felt the need to move the captain under those circumstances. And tossing Miller in as a throw-in to secure Libor Hajek in return? It’s almost impossible to believe that the team got almost zero return for McDonagh and Miller.

So, yes, that’s the one to unwind.

Carl Hagelin to Anaheim for Emerson Etem and a second-rounder on the floor of the 2015 draft in Glen Sather’s last trade as a GM was another fiasco that hastened the team’s demise. Woof. I’d sure undo that one, too, if possible.

This team has underachieved in the postseason for a while, and all Drury has done is tweak. When does someone have to admit this team doesn’t have what it takes to win a Cup?
— Steven Ovadia

Well, they did go to the conference finals two seasons ago, so the (long-time) underachieving-in-the-playoffs narrative doesn’t exactly apply, does it?

I understand the frustration, but I don’t think that changing the entire coaching staff (other than Forever Benoit Allaire) after this spring’s first-round defeat could be considered only a “tweak.”

Of course, if you mean that winning the Cup once since 1940 represents underachieving in the playoffs for a while, you’ll get no argument.

If some of the players on the Rangers in their exit interviews expressed some frustration with Gerard Gallant, do you have a sense of what the scene was? And would guys like Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, who had both experienced winning the Cup, offer some more insight there? I would be curious to hear what they thought.
— Thomas Vitiello

These were one-on-one meetings with Drury. My understanding is that a meaningful number of veterans expressed frustration that the team was not tactically well-enough prepared for the Devils and was unable to make mid-game or mid-series adjustments.

While style of play is dramatically different these days, would Harry Howell make your top six Rangers defensemen? Who would your top six be, and who would be your No. 1 Ranger be at center and the wings?
— Paul Rieschick

Oh, for sure, Howell would be among the Rangers all-time top six, joining Brian Leetch, Brad Park, Adam Fox, Ron Greschner and Bill Gadsby.

Rod Gilbert on the right, Jean Ratelle in the middle, Vic Hadfield on the left. GAG Line Forever.

Who stays or goes? Barclay Goodrow or Tarasenko?
— Michael Borodinsky

I believe that has already been established, hasn’t it?

Do you think with Tarasenko not signing as of yet, it’s more likely he re-signs with the Rangers?
— Mark Crawley

No, I do not. Nor do I foresee the team signing Kane when he completes his rehab.

If not Peter Laviolette, who would you have chosen to be the next Rangers head coach?
— Michael Silvers

There is no doubt that I — unlike every NHL general manager with a coaching vacancy to fill over the last half-dozen years — would have invited Patrick Roy for an interview and gone from there.

Just for fun, let’s pretend Artemi Panarin didn’t have a no-movement clause this offseason. Do you think the Rangers would have traded him?
— Robert Castano

I don’t know that Panarin would have been traded given the cap scenarios around the league, but I do think there’d have been discussions.

Want to catch a game? The Rangers schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.

Do you think the Rangers lost to the Devils more because of a lack of team speed, or because leadership and coaching were no-shows in Games 4, 5 and 7? Or all of the above? I think the opening night roster in October will be a deeper more balanced team than the one that lost to the Devils. Do you agree?
— Ethan Levine

It wasn’t a lack of speed that doomed the Rangers, but their inability to slow down the Devils anywhere on the ice. They never developed a forecheck. Three no-shows in the final four games sealed it.

And as to this season’s opening night roster vs. the playoff group, if we’re talking about a healthy Patrick Kane, I’ll take the playoff lineup.

What happened with Rammer?
— Michael Dachs, Paul Palmer

Jim Ramsay’s tenure as head medical trainer did not come to an end because of anything related to job performance. That is the best (and only) answer that I can provide.

Do you think the Rangers have addressed the lack of grit that was sorely missing in last year’s playoffs?
— Peter Huh

Not to my liking, no.

Why is the new deal for Lafreniere taking so long? Is the size of K’Andre Miller’s deal a problem in that it leaves too little for him and any cap room?
— Jonathan Moore

This is not out of the ordinary. Kaapo Kakko didn’t sign last year until July 28. There is approximately $3 million available to sign Lafreniere, who should come in at the $2.4 million-to-$2.7 million range on a two-year bridge deal. Miller’s contract has no impact.

Because he played for Laviolette, does Eric Gustafsson already have the inside track on third pair? Do you think it’ll truly be an open competition with Zac Jones, Ben Harpur, etc.?
 — Zebop

Probably, but I think the Rangers need to give Jones — who has a potentially higher ceiling than Gustafsson — a legitimate shot at the job.