Rangers must answer for curious handling of Lias Andersson mess

Suddenly, it seems, there’s a whole lot for the essentially mum Rangers management to deal with midway through this second rebuilding season.

There is the Lias Andersson situation, murkier by the day, which neither president John Davidson nor general manager Jeff Gorton has addressed since the 21-year-old Swede packed up his gear and left the AHL Wolf Pack on Dec. 20.

There is the three-goaltender situation, under which Igor Shesterkin got his second straight start, Thursday at the Garden against the Devils, Henrik Lundqvist again dressed as the backup and Alex Georgiev again watched in street clothes, a three-ringed state of affairs that management has not addressed, either.

There are decisions to be reached on pending unrestricted free agents Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast and on pending restricted free agents with arbitration rights Ryan Strome, Tony DeAngelo and Georgiev as the Feb. 24 trade deadline approaches.

Past, present and future all appear to be merging. Just about two years out from the ownership and management call to tear it down and build it back up after the organization’s best efforts to win the Stanley Cup had fallen just short, the Rangers appear to be approaching another crossroads.

It is impossible to know just what is going on with Andersson, who this week has delivered cryptic messages through the Swedish media but, as far as is known, has not communicated at all with the Rangers front office since he was suspended a day after walking out on the Wolf Pack.

Andersson referred to his mental well-being, injuries to his foot or feet, and to “many incidents” and “other factors” while at Hartford (or perhaps also in New York) in spontaneous comments he offered while watching a Champions League game from the stands in Gothenburg, Sweden. Rangers management seemed caught off guard by his translated remarks, just as they were caught off guard by his sudden departure.

Thursday, Andersson apparently instructed his North American agent, Jarrett Bosquet, to go on radio in Canada and say that the 2017 seventh-overall draft pick has not been diagnosed with a mental health issue, nor does he suffer from clinical depression or anxiety.

Half a world away, with Andersson’s words available only through translation, the Rangers don’t seem to know what’s going on beyond the fact there was and is an extreme disconnect between the young man’s self-evaluation and management’s assessment of the center’s status and performance.

So wouldn’t it make sense for Davidson to book a flight to Sweden and spend some time with Andersson? Would the player refuse?

This shouldn’t be about appearances, or about taking a strong stance. This should be about fact-finding, with perhaps a dollop of compassion added to the mix. The Rangers have an obligation to themselves to learn as much as possible about what apparently went so wrong with Andersson, a player who was drafted in that prime position more because of his character than his talent. Plus, there is an obligation to the person, too. Something somewhere was lost in translation, and probably long before Andersson quit while demanding to be traded. Letting this play out — Andersson’s promise to divulge details “at a latter stage,” according to interpretation, seems like a campaign trick — does no good for anyone.

I know, in our evolved world, it’s all about Andersson the person. But in the real world, which is the one in which people pay top dollar to buy tickets to the games, it’s kind of also about the Blueshirts recouping something from a seventh-overall pick that’s making Manny Malhotra at seventh-overall in 1998 seem like a cross between selecting Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.

The Rangers are on a need-to-know basis here. So, even while understanding that Davidson has other duties, it’s strange that he’s not there … in Sweden.

Shesterkin, meanwhile and not unexpectedly, was being given the opportunity to back-up his 29-save performance in Tuesday’s 5-3 victory over the Avalanche. But even as David Quinn continues to talk about approaching this “day-by-day,” as is appropriate for a coach, that’s not good enough for the front office.

Davidson, a former goalie who was stuck for a while in a three-goalie mix with Wayne Thomas and Doug Soetaert during 1978-79, and Gorton must have a blueprint for their self-made dilemma in nets. Or at least they should, because carrying three for a substantial period of time — even into the deadline — is untenable.

And as management deals with these issues, there are the critical decisions upcoming on the pending free agents, and most notably on Kreider, as the Rangers continue to try to develop the kids and compete for a playoff spot all at once.

Lots to do.

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