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McDavid and Puljujarvi appear to have the unique skills to lead the Edmonton Blitz

I’m going to write something exuberant about the future of the Edmonton Oilers today, so if your thing right now is gloom, pessimism and holding a torch for Taylor Hall while brandishing a noose for Peter Chiarelli, this may not be for you. Of course, I blame no one for doubting the future success of the wretched Oilers, but every now and then I think of a player like Connor McDavid, and of his new sidekick Jesse Puljujarvi, and the sun rises on my hopes for the team.

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So here goes.

I’ve been considering what kind of team the Oilers are going to be in the next few years. It’s my inclination to believe that we — and that includes me — have been mostly getting it wrong.

Since he took over the Edmonton Oilers last year, general manager Peter Chiarelli has added such large and tough players as Eric Gryba, Zack Kassian, Milan Lucic and Patrick Maroon. Clearly, Chiarelli is trying to replicate what he had going on with his big, bad Boston teams, right? The new Oilers will be just like those old Bruins, correct? That’s how they’re going to be known, agreed?