It's Kyle Dubas' first trade deadline as GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it'll be his most important one yet with a squad that continues to fade in the standings. Ken Campbell has more.

After watching his team lose three straight on the road by a combined score of 12-4, it has to have become apparent to Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas what the hockey world has known for quite some time and something we’ve seen coming from miles away.

It. Is. Over.

So this makes it both an easy and career-defining trade deadline for Dubas. There is no pretense now. There is almost no hope. The window has definitively slammed shut, and even the most ardent optimist would admit that.

It is time for Dubas to do the right thing and abandon the build-on-the-fly or the chase-one-last-championship philosophy. If Jake Guentzel is still a Pittsburgh Penguin after Friday’s trade deadline, Dubas will have abdicated his responsibilities to the franchise and its fan base. Now comes the pain.

Sidney Crosby will undoubtedly not be thrilled, but he’s already on the record as saying that he supports whatever decisions the GM makes. Evgeni Malkin won’t be pleased, and Erik Karlsson, who was brought in to take a run at another Cup, will be deflated. Too bad.

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