The Rangers’ bye period officially turns into the All-Star break on Thursday when the NHL shuts down for the weekend extravaganza in Toronto.

And if there is not quite the expectation that GM Chris Drury will pull a deal for a center during this pause in the season, there is certainly anticipation that the Blueshirts will move expediently to fill the void that Filip Chytil’s season-ending, post-concussion symptoms (what’s the reason to be coy?) have created.

If a deal does transpire between now and Sunday — the rest of the league does not necessarily operate under the Rangers’ timetable — it will mark the club’s first trade over an NHL All-Star break in 34 years.

And that one was a blockbuster. It came out of the template that has been in place seemingly forever on Broadway, one that saw the Blueshirts sacrifice two blue-chip youngsters for a star past his prime to put up on the marquee. It was a deal that a win-now team might make.