LOS ANGELES — The Rangers’ announcement of their plans to retool naturally coincided with Gabe Perreault’s return to the top line. 

Now that the Blueshirts have decided to take a step back, recalibrate and make some personnel changes, Perreault is at the top of the list of players who can be managed more strategically going forward this season. Development has long been a critique of this organization, but circumstances are looking different than previously. 

Skating on the first unit with Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller for a third straight game Tuesday against the Kings, Perreault is starting to find his footing at the NHL level. 

“It’s obviously nice playing with guys like that,” Perreault told The Post before the Rangers set out on the current road trip. “They’ve been here for a long time and kind of make it easy on me. Sometimes, it’s not always easy playing top line, top D-pair. It makes it harder in that sense. But I think since my first time in the top six, now I’m definitely more comfortable and more used to it, in a way. I hope to just keep getting better and more comfortable.”

The 20-year-old sure looked confident in the final minutes of regulation Monday night, when he was streaking toward the Ducks net and flipped to his backhand before Jackson LaCombe got his stick in the way at the last second. 

It was a one-goal game at the time, and Perreault attacked the net like it was. 

He’s had the puck on his stick a lot more. And after failing to record a single shot in half of his first six games, Perreault has only had two such performances over his 11 games since. 

“Gabe had a hell of a game [against the Ducks],” Rangers captain J.T. Miller said Monday night. “I think maybe [he] did a lot of things that people watching don’t see. Obviously, he’s a really gifted player with the puck. It’s how he’s made a name for himself at this point. That being said, he was in such good spots all over the rink today. You can tell he’s learning a lot as he goes. He’s trying to be a sponge and it’s fun to play with. 

“He’s just going to get better as he gets going, but I think today, his play without the puck was better. He was good with the puck, but I’m saying his play without the puck really stood out to me.”

In an otherwise disappointing effort against the Senators last week, Perreault recorded the first multigoal effort of his young NHL career. His three goals and four assists through 17 games indicate his game could be coming. 

The more he plays with top six caliber talent the more opportunities he has to cement himself there. 

In 58:13 of 5-on-5 ice time with Zibanejad and Miller, the trio has been on the ice for seven Rangers goals and three against, per Natural Stat Trick. The two veterans have said they enjoy skating alongside one another for the versatility at center. 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND RANGERS STATS

If Perreault can seize the top-line wing role early, it would be one less thing for the Rangers to address in the retool. 

“I think he’s getting quicker with his decision-making,” head coach Mike Sullivan said of the rookie. “I think his foot speed picking up and the game is probably slowing down in his brain, also. I think that’s all happening at the same time. That’s just the process so. He makes a handful of plays every night. He almost scores in the third period there to tie it up [Monday night]. He plays the game with a lot of courage. I give him credit. He takes that puck to the far post. When you take it to the far post like that, usually you’re going to pay a price when that happens. 

“I think he plays the game with a lot of courage, his willingness to do those types of things. I think it just speaks to his competitiveness.”