Alexis Lafrenière never thought the season would devolve into this with the Rangers, both from personal and team standpoints.
The enigmatic former No. 1 draft pick has not taken a step forward during his sixth season in the NHL, among several factors why the Blueshirts will come out of the Olympic break next week with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
There is a high likelihood of additional moves ahead of the March 6 trade deadline, after team president Chris Drury already shipped out leading scorer Artemi Panarin to the Kings on Feb. 4.
“Every season you go into it trying to win and perform, and it wasn’t [the case].. It’s been tough for us this year,” Lafrenière told The Post after practice Wednesday in Tarrytown. “We got rid of a couple of guys, and it’s been hard. But we have 25 games to try to finish strong.”