It hasn’t happened since I was six and a half years old. The Oilers are leading their division (or tied for the lead) going into the All-Star break. The last time that happened was when I was in the first grade. You can say, fairly, that no time in my life as a conscious fan of the team have the Edmonton Oilers been this good, this late into the year.

The Oilers have 64 points after 51 games. Two years ago the Oilers finished with 62 points after 82 games. Last year they finished 29th in the NHL. Today they are ranked 8th in the league standing. For what feels like an eternity, the Oilers have been the worst team in the Pacific division. Now they stand atop it.

It’s been 27 years since this has happened, so I venture a good number of Nation readers have never even been ALIVE when the Oilers have been this good. This is new territory for a lot of us. What am I supposed to do with my hands? Where did I put those Oilers car-flags I swore not to use again until the playoffs? Who does Fernando Pisani think can be this year’s Fernando Pisani? I have so many questions! But there’s a jaded part of my soul (the part that still cringes when the name “Craig MacTavish” is uttered out loud) that is trying to talk me out of believing that this year is different and it will all come crashing down.

That jaded part of my soul is a jerk though. This IS different and I have given myself permission to believe it.

I don’t know what plan the Oilers had internally when it comes to their progression. Last year a lot of progress was destroyed by massive injury to many critical players like McDavid, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, and Klefbom. I think, when healthy, last year’s team would have been much better than 29th overall, but that’s neither here nor there. What matters is that the Oilers are good today.

Nay. They are VERY good today.

The Oilers, their players, coaches, management, and fans need to be aware of this one thing: The window to win is open right now whether they planned for it to be or not.

If the club is still worrying about a mythical future when they can decide they want to compete for a Stanley Cup, then they are wasting that window. Connor McDavid is the league’s leading scorer and he just turned 20 years old. Leon Draisaitl is becoming a star player. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle are beginning to produce offensively again. Milan Lucic and Pat Maroon have added elements of skilled size that has been missing. The defense is a balance of six NHL quality players. And, Cam Talbot has given the Oilers the opportunity to win games.

The Edmonton Oilers are balanced down the middle, are balanced on the back end, are getting massive contributions from players who are making limited dollars (Maroon, McDavid, Draisaitl), and are well coached. They are top 10 in the NHL as a team for a couple key statistical categories (Fenwick and Shots For). They are top 10 in goal differential and points percentage.

The Edmonton Oilers are good.

From where I sit, today, the Oilers have completely bypassed the question of “Playoffs” and we should be talking now about what this team needs to do in order to win a Cup. I forgive you if you think that sounds crazy and I’ll give you a moment to gather your thoughts. I reiterate it is not crazy at all. It would be crazy to look at this open window and discuss what the team ought to do next year…when the window opens.

The time to win is now. The time to go after impact rentals is now.

The Oilers have a top 10 team in the NHL, young impact players, and NHLNumbers indicates that (in part due to Long Term Injured Relief) the club is capable of fitting the equivalent of roughly $14 million dollars of salary onto its roster. We’re talking Shattenkirk. We’re talking Duchene. We’re talking Vrbata. We’re talking about accepting the reality of the situation that this damned year the Oilers are good enough to compete with the best teams in the NHL.

So the question of the day is this: What will it take to for the Oilers to compete for a Stanley Cup? And, are you ready to accept the fact that this is a legitimate question to start asking?