NHL Trade Deadline: Alex Ovechkin and 8 Stars Who Needed Help & Didn't Get It

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The aftermath of the NHL trade deadline has been followed by the analysis of the biggest winners and losers of the deadline.

What about the players?

Some star players have struggled this season and need some help. Unfortunately, many of them didn't get what they needed this deadline.

Here are eight stars that didn't get what they need.

8. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers got some bad news this week: back-up goaltender Marty Biron broke his collarbone in practice and will be out.

Suddenly, the New York Rangers went from a team with solid starting and back-up goaltending, to a team with questionable back-up goaltending going down the stretch.

There was nothing the Rangers could do when they found out because the deadline had passed. Now, they're just hoping that nothing happens to Henrik Lundqvist.

Lundqvist will be playing quite a bit now. Hope he won't need a break because with the Rangers currently at the seventh seed in the East, they'll need him to maintain their playoff position.

7. P.K. Subban and Other Montreal Canadiens Healthy Defensemen

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Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges have been out for the season since learning they would need knee surgery. Fellow blue-liner Jaroslav Spacek now joins the list of Montreal Canadiens' d-men with knee injuries.

Luckily, the prognosis on Spacek is only 4-6 weeks, not out for the season. This means he could be back for the playoffs.

However, those are tough injuries for the Canadiens to face. Will their remaining defensemen be enough to maintain their position for the playoffs?

They picked up Brent Sopel to add on D, but only time will tell if that will be enough.

6. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins were most concerned about picking up some offensive relief at the trade deadline. Sure, they picked up defenseman Matt Niskanen from the Dallas Stars along with forward James Neal, but they had to give up defenseman Alex Goligoski in exchange.

Kris Letang's blue-line partner Brooks Orpik is out for at least four weeks after blocking a shot. Letang has played with Niskanen, but I'm not sure that Niskanen can really take Orpik's place.

In any case, Letang is going to have to really step up as the defensive weight is placed on his shoulders.

5. Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Sergei Gonchar, Ottawa Senators

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The Ottawa Senators made a lot of moves before the trade deadline. First, they sent fan favorite Mike Fisher to Nashville in exchange for draft picks. Then, they sent Chris Kelly to Boston for a draft pick.

Next was Jarkko Ruutu to Anaheim for another draft pick. After that, they swapped goaltenders with Colorado, acquring Craig Anderson for Brian Elliott.

Next to go was Alex Kovalev to Pittsburgh for another draft pick. Finally, they sent Chris Campoli and a draft pick to Chicago in exchange for Ryan Potulny and a draft pick.

To recap, the Senators traded six players and got two players now in return—one goaltender and one forward.

Sure, all of those draft picks will be helpful in rebuilding a team in the next few years, but the picks will likely need to spend time in the minors before seeing playing time with the Sens. This means that the Sens' remaining stars really haven't received any help from this trade.

4. Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers were looking to add defensemen at the trade deadline and added Bryan McCabe.

The Rangers also need help on their power play. They were looking to add Brad Richards to their line-up, but in the end couldn't get the deal to go through.

Instead, they picked up center John Mitchell from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Mitchell won't be as effective as Richards would have been; it's still on Marian Gaborik's shoulders to deliver offense.

Although, now that Gaborik is battling post-concussion symptoms, the Rangers could use some help on offense.

3. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks

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Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are pretty common names to see atop the league leaders stats. Not this year though.

Everyone has been worried about the Sharks’ defense, but they need to worry about these guys’ offense as well.

The Sharks are sitting in the third spot in the West, but if they hope to go farther in the playoffs than they have in previous years, they'll need to see higher numbers from Thornton and Marleau.

2. Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey Devils

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Ilya Kovalchuk signed his massive deal over the summer and so far he hasn’t been heard from much this year.

He’s been good during their winning streak, but who knows what will happen now that the Devils have mixed up some of the chemistry on the team.  

The Devils added a center into their system and Dave Steckel from the Capitals. Neither will be enough for Kovalchuk though.

1. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

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Jason Arnott was picked up to play second line center. However, Alex Ovechkin needs help and didn’t really get it.

There’s no question that Alex Ovechkin has not produced the Ovechkin-esque type of numbers expected of him this season. He’s been beneficial in other ways—hits and on defense—but his offense is missed at times.

While the Capitals got everything they were looking for this trade deadline, they should have gotten help for Ovechkin. His line hasn’t produced as much as usual and they need to shake things up.