The path forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins is clear.

After three straight losses to close out their west coast road trip, the plug has finally been pulled on the playoff hopes of these Penguins.

It’s over.

To stay realistically in the race, the Penguins needed a near perfect run on the west coast, and that was no easy task. Pittsburgh had to take on the best team in the NHL, a team on a four game win streak, and a team that employs both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

The Penguins started by knocking off the Canucks, which led to some belief that maybe that game, and this trip, could spark the turnaround on a fleeting season.

But then the Penguins got goalied in a game against the Seattle. Then they blew a 3-1 lead in the third period against the Calgary Flames. Then they looked dazed and confused in Edmonton vs the Oilers.

And it was a stark reminder that this team is nowhere near playoff-level. The sad reality is that they never really were.

So where do you go now? You sell. You sell hard. You put the shovel in the ground and start building upon the plan that Kyle Dubas outlined weeks ago.

The Penguins have several players who should gain some significant interest in the next few days as we approach the March 8th trade deadline. There’s the obvious in Jake Guentzel, who I’m very confident we will see get moved.

What the return for a pending UFA in Guentzel will be is yet to be seen, and heavily argued about online. But aside from Jake, there are a lot of names that you should keep an eye on.

Reilly Smith is apparently garnering interest around the league, and Dubas should do everything in his power to move Smith out. He has not been the kind of addition that the Penguins had hoped he would be when they traded for him in the summer, and honestly I think he would welcome a trade out of town.

His $5 million cap hit is hard to move, and the extra year on his deal past this one is also difficult considering his production this season.

But aside from this bad stretch in Pittsburgh, Smith has been tremendous for years. It’s easy to see him bouncing back in a new environment.

Someone like Lars Eller could get some interest too. I love Lars Eller, and I would be sad to see him go. He’s been the Penguins’ welcoming committee this season, playing with 10+ different line mates over the course of the season.

Despite that constant revolving door on his wings, Eller has been really solid. He does a little bit of everything, including some key work on the penalty kill. Ideally at this stage of his career, he’s a fourth line center on a contending team, and there should definitely be some teams calling.

He was in a similar spot last season, when the Washington Capitals were flailing in the standings and traded him to the Colorado Avalanche. It netted Washington a second round pick (in 2025). I have to imagine there’s a similar return this season for the Eller’s services. Maybe a third? A second if it gets to be a bidding war.

For players like Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, I wouldn’t expect to see them moved at the deadline. The former has a full no-move clause and the latter has a modified no-trade pact. Plus, they both have several years left on their deals.

I would not be surprised to see Rakell’s time in Pittsburgh be ending soon, but to me, that seems like more of an offseason type trade. If you traded Rakell now, you’d be selling rather low. Give him till the end of the season. Maybe his stock will rise and, as a result, so will his value on the trade market.

On the defensive end, I don’t really see anyone getting moved. I know a lot of fans would love to see Ryan Graves traded, but barring some wizardry from Dubas, Graves will be here a long time.

I would keep an eye on Chad Ruhwedel, however. A simple, effective, cheap defenseman who silently does his work? That’s a dream defender for a contending team. He’s the perfect addition down the lineup for a team that wants to improve the depth at the blue line, while also bringing in veteran leadership and experience.

I would only worry that the Penguins would not get much value back for Ruhwedel. Not that he isn’t worth a lot — to me, he definitely is — but he doesn’t have the name value in the NHL for a big return. I’d much rather keep him than flip him for a mid to late round pick, which is what I feel like he would fetch.

In net, Alex Nedeljkovic will be fascinating to watch. I know he had a miserable game in Edmonton, but he came into that game carrying a .915 save percentage and a 2.67 goals against average. There are a few teams in the running for the Stanley Cup Playoffs who are struggling in net.

New Jersey would be a prime target for a guy like Nedeljkovic to go. If they were getting even league average goaltending, they would be a playoff team. But it’s hard to see the Penguins making a trade like that within the division, unless the price was outstanding.

Nedeljkovic is a UFA and is probably due a raise from his $1.5 million deal he signed with them this offseason. Could he remain in Pittsburgh? For sure. But the Penguins have a real interesting debate coming up in net. How much is Nedeljkovic worth?

Joel Blomqvist also throws a wrench into things. The former second round pick in 2020 by the Penguins has put together an incredibly solid showing during his first season in North America. Could he challenge for an NHL job next season?

Regardless of exactly who is here and who is gone at 3:01pm on March 8th, the Penguins have to accept reality.

I understand and appreciate the notion that you owe it to Sid to go for it every year. Trust me, I do.

But there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can be done about this year’s team. This roster, as it is currently constructed, is cooked.

Keeping this unit together does nothing for anyone. It’s a disservice to the fans, it’s a disservice to the organization’s future, and in my opinion, it’s a disservice to Sid.

This team is going nowhere. Don’t make him drag a lifeless team any longer this season. It’s not going to work.

Sell off who you can, get back what is out there on the market, and take a closer look when the summer rolls around.

Then we can argue rebuild vs retool, and this whole mysterious thing we call the future.

(Featured photo by Eric Hartline/USA Today Sports via Reuters Con)