Nothing's stopping Kyle Dubas now, huh?
If he didn't feel free to attempt almost any trade off the Penguins' roster before they flew west for four games, needing most or all of the eight points at stake, he sure should now after they cleared U.S. customs with only two, punctuated by a pathetic weekend in Alberta that saw them throw away another late lead in Calgary, then throw away their dignity last night in Edmonton:
Excruciating. Embarrassing, really.
But also, the end.
And not just the end of any plausible pursuit of a Stanley Cup playoff berth for the 2023-24 NHL season, but also, and infinitely more important, the end of an era in which Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and so many superlative supporting characters contributed to a spectacular run of three championships within a decade, plus awards and accolades galore.
They're nine points behind the third-place Flyers in the Metro, 10 points behind the Eastern Conference's wild-card pack and, even with 23 games left on the schedule, the one deadline they can't beat is the league's trade deadline Friday. That's when Dubas has to do right by the franchise's future -- but also its present, since that hasn't exactly been aces -- and move whoever he can to, in his own words two weeks ago, "get younger."
I'm all for it.
With one exceptional exception: Jake Guentzel shouldn't be among them.
Sure, he'd bring the most back. It'd have to be a sign-and-trade, since he's a pending free agent, but he's among the league's most consistent goal-scorers, and there's still no skill that's more coveted. Any contender could see itself elevating to a new level by adding him. And heck, Jim Rutherford alone might offer a limb to put his still Cup-less Canucks over the top.
I don't care. Barring a return that legitimately floors Dubas, it doesn't make sense here.
Why?
Don't overthink it: With all due respect to Marian Hossa, Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz, Guentzel's the best left winger Sid's ever had.
Maybe even better in that regard than most around here will realize, in that people inside the game will readily acknowledge that Guentzel's long contributed almost as much to Sid's game as vice versa. And as a microscopic case in point, since Guentzel was hurt Feb. 14, Sid admirably scored three goals in the first two games, but since has one in the past seven games. He's still piled up seven assists because he is who he is, but the combined absence of Guentzel and Bryan Rust have palpably taken a toll.
To be clear: Every game that Sidney Patrick Crosby plays in the NHL needs to be -- and I'll predict will be -- in a Pittsburgh sweater. Anything else is unconscionable.
To be further clear: For as long as Sid chooses to play, he should be treated with the same respect he's forever shown others. He's never going to have a Jeff Carter phase to his career. He'll exit with the class everyone expects, among the top tier of centers in the world. And there's no cause whatsoever, whether from a do-the-right-thing standpoint or for purely hockey purposes, to not provide him with the highest available level of talent.
That's here in Guentzel already. And he needs to stay, signed to a long-term contract, as I'd been hearing for months was Dubas' intention, anyway.
It'll be expensive but also affordable. The salary cap's going to increase. Carter's finally going to be gone. And other cap space, I'm positive can be cleared through other avenues.
As I understand it, the only players who can't/won't be traded, for various reasons, are Sid, Geno, Letang, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust and, of course, Carter. I'd love to believe Marcus Pettersson would be there on performance alone, but I don't know that. Add Guentzel to that, and that's the list, per my own outlook.
Anyone else can go. Rickard Rakell and Reilly Smith have top-six pedigree, and maybe being on the wrong side of 30 won't stand out as much elsewhere. I've both loved and lauded Lars Eller's two-way work, and I'd hate to see him go, but that's a playoff piece another team would appreciate. Those three alone would clear more than $12 million in cap space, regardless of return, and Rakell's would keep clearing for four additional years.
But really, this conversation, to get all-the-way stark, needs to focus on goaltending.
What's Tristan Jarry achieved this season to support the five-year, $26,875,000 contract he and Dubas signed last summer?
That's a term and financing worthy of a near-top-tier player at the position, and he isn't that. He'll just as often tantalize as he will collapse the way he did a couple nights ago in Calgary. He's an untimely goal waiting to happen, and he's been that here a little too long.
None of which will prevent potential suitors from seeking him out and, possibly, overpaying. There are contenders -- and pretenders that fancy themselves as such -- who might as well be crying out for help in the crease. And this time of year, they're not as picky as they might otherwise be.
If not Jarry, then Alex Nedeljkovic could be a piece. He's been a find, but Joel Blomqvist's an AHL All-Star for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as a 22-year-old rookie in that league. That's the same age Matt Murray was when he arrived and excelled. He can't be that far.
Move any and all. Respect the captain. Both are possible.
• Man, watching Geno's tough anymore. It's wonderful that he snapped his latest goal drought at 13 games last night in Edmonton ...
Tonight's silver lining. pic.twitter.com/iBWvowfitL
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 4, 2024
... but he's skating like he's lugging a grand piano on his back. And he isn't hurt. That should terrify everyone to the top of the operation.
• I swear, our citizenry freaks out like no other when it comes to rebuilding, and I'm sure that's the Pirates' fault. It shouldn't be the case. In cap leagues like the NHL and NFL, rebuilds can and often do occur in a raging hurry. This won't be 2003 in any way. For one, there wasn't a cap. For another, though the Penguins really hate when I type this, they're making money hand-over-fist since moving to PPG Paints Arena into one of the sweetest lease deals in all of professional sports, collecting on concerts, shows and soon even more with the development across Centre Avenue. They'll always have the wherewithal to spend to the cap and should always be held to precisely that standard.
• Don't be disappointed by this season. Be dismayed. It didn't have to be this way. Dubas didn't need to add a bunch of 30-somethings to a team already teeming with them. He could've valued speed, grit ... and more speed and grit. As long as the third and fourth lines weren't going to score -- and this group never was, except for Eller -- he might as well have added something, anything that would've made a difference. Massive mistake.
• Anyone curious to know how fiercely determined Sid's been to get back to the playoffs, against all conventional wisdom, only needs to see this amazing capture a few days ago by Getty photographer Derek Cain in Vancouver:

DEREK CAIN / GETTY
Rickard Rakell converts a Sidney Crosby pass for a power-play goal Tuesday night in Vancouver, British Columbia.
That's Sid setting up Rakell for a goal, and I'll be damned if he isn't celebrating before Rakell even puts it home.
But there's more to it: Look at that expression, that intensity.
• If my week in Bradenton, Fla., taught me one lesson above all, it's that Henry Davis isn't to be doubted. There's no question, based on watching him and speaking with him, that he's on a mission to prove how wrong the Pirates are to be planning to send him back to the minors. Which they are, by the way. Meaning both: They're planning to send him back, and they're wrong. He's mashing the ball -- 5 for 13 with two for-real bombs so far -- and he's catching just fine. Being blunt here, he looks better than Yasmani Grandal defensively, but that's just me.
• The saying that if there's two or three players for one position, then there's really none ... might apply in right field, but it might not at second base, where both Liover Peguero and Jared Triolo are making legit cases. That's cool. That's optimal. Whereas Ben Cherington just watching Josh Palacios, Edward Oliveras and some dude whose name I've already forgotten allegedly compete in right ... non-competitive cheapskates.
• It wouldn't be a Monday morning without quarterbacking, so I'll simply remind that the Steelers' stated platform to select their starter at the most important position will be a summer competition involving 2.5 preseason games -- the third's always a farce -- over three do-or-die regular-season games, two of them on the road, plus a road playoff game. Seems smart.
• Mason Rudolph was the NFL's top-rated quarterback in those three regular-season games, and these were Kenny Pickett's rankings over the entirety of the 2023 season were as follows:
• Passer rating: 81.4, 33rd in NFL
• TD percentage: 1.9%, 44th
• Completion percentage: 62.0%, 37th
• Catchable pass: 82.9%, 35th
• Depth of target: 7.1 yards, 34th
That's not being anti-Kenny, anti-Pitt or any other nonsense. That's data.
• Seriously, on what basis is any of this even a sustainable debate? How does it persist?
• Thanks so much for reading!
• Dick Groat days till Miami!
• Audiophiles hate reading: