ELMONT, N.Y. — The New York Rangers held star forward Artemi Panarin out of the lineup for Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the rival New York Islanders at UBS Arena for roster management purposes, according to a league source. The 34-year-old is not expected to appear in any more games prior to next Wednesday’s Olympic roster freeze.

The Rangers informed the pending free agent earlier this month that they do not intend to offer a contract extension and have been working with him to find a trade destination. Panarin has final say on if and where he goes due to a full no-movement clause.

“It’s hard to say how I feel,” Panarin said on Jan. 17, a day after team president and general manager Chris Drury issued his “retool” letter and had a private conversation with Panarin to begin the trade dialogue. “I’m still confused, but the GM decided to go in a different direction. I’m OK with that. I’m a Ranger player right now, so I’ll play every game 100 percent.”

It’s unclear if a trade is being finalized or if the team is simply holding him out to prevent injury and protect a prime asset in the lead-up to the March 6 trade deadline. It’s also possible the Rangers have worked out the parameters of a deal and are now allowing Panarin time to negotiate a contract extension, which colleague Chris Johnston reported the player’s camp is seeking in order to sign off on any trade. Panarin has been granted permission to discuss an extension with interested teams in advance of any trade, as The Athletic reported earlier Wednesday.

Panarin has declined to comment on which teams he’d be willing to waive his NMC for, leaving the situation ripe for speculation. Multiple league sources believe his preference would be to sign with a team on the East Coast, but a few Western Conference contenders are also believed to be in the mix.

His teammates are in the same position as fans — waiting to hear what comes next while trying to process the sweeping changes that have been set in motion.

“You show up to the rink and he’s not here,” said center Vincent Trocheck, who has also been at the center of recent trade rumors. “It’s just a weird feeling. We know what a situation like this brings, and for me personally, it being a guy like ‘Bread,’ who I’ve become extremely close with over the last four years and was lucky enough to play with, it’s been a huge blessing for me. I’ve learned a ton from him.”

“It was just getting the info that he wasn’t playing right before the game,” added Mika Zibanejad. “You don’t have a lot of time to think about that kind of stuff, but I’ve played with him for seven years. We’re all human beings at the end of the day. The situation is what it is.”

Coach Mike Sullivan moved Will Cuylle up in the lineup to replace Panarin on Trocheck’s left wing, but the trickle-down effect was stark. The Rangers (22-26-6) didn’t register their first shot on goal until 12:23 had elapsed in the opening period and finished with only 16 for the game. They’re being forced to move forward without their biggest offensive weapon, with that reality hitting the locker room hard.

“It’s just a different type of challenge,” Sullivan said. “But when you go through these types of challenges, I think it forces all of us to look in the mirror and try to figure out how we can all do a better job. I’m certainly doing that myself. I’m going to try to do the best job I can for this team as their coach, and it starts with bringing the right attitude every day and making sure that we bring a certain level of enthusiasm to what we do. We’re going to learn through the experiences. We’re going to try to win the one game right in front of us.”

Sullivan hadn’t been holding back with his recent usage of Panarin, who’s logged 20 minutes or more in each of his last five games — including 24:15 in Monday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Boston Bruins. That very well could end up being his final game with the team.

“It sucks,” defenseman Braden Schneider said. “You want to be the team that’s getting guys and making a run.”

Panarin currently leads the Rangers with 57 points (19 goals and 38 assists) through 52 games. He’s been their leading scorer for all seven seasons in New York, although that streak will end with a trade surely coming. He’s accumulated a total of 607 points (205 goals and 402 assists) through 482 games, which ranks ninth in franchise history.

That era is coming to a close, with the remaining Rangers left to carry on through these uncertain times.

“You can’t go about your day being scared of what’s gonna happen next,” Trocheck said. “You’ve got to embrace every moment that you have together and love everybody in this locker room.”