Jari Kurri

Jari Kurri (born May 18 1960, in Helsinki, Finland) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey right winger. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Kurri started his professional areer with Jokerit in the Finnish SM-liiga played his first nine and a half NHL seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, and was then traded to the Los Angeles Kings where he played five-plus seasons reunited with longtime linemate, Wayne Gretzky. He was traded to the New York Rangers in 1996, where he would play for half a season. He was then dealt to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim where he played for 1 season, before finally signing with the Colorado Avalanche, where he would play 1 season. Kurri won five Stanley Cups, all with Edmonton (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990). He was drafted by Edmonton in 1980, and retired in 1998. His best season was 1984-85 when he had 135 points. A year later, he would lead the league in goals with 68. While he was definitely a very talented player in his own right, Kurri was helped by the fact that he often played as a linemate of Wayne Gretzky while they were both on the Oilers (Gretzky was credited with assists on 60% of Kurri's goals, though they played several seasons on different teams.)

Kurri's 19 goals in the 1985 post-season (18 games played) tied an NHL record set by the Philadelphia Flyers' Reggie Leach in the 1976 playoffs (16 games played). He also had three hat tricks in the conference finals, another feat that no player has ever equalled.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. His 1398 points are still 17th all-time, and the highest among European players. He is 14th in all-time goals with 601. He is the second leading scorer in Oiler history, with 1,043 points in 754 games, behind only Gretzky who had 1669 points in 696 games.

He has a trophy named after him in the SM-liiga; the Jari Kurri trophy. Kurri is currently an assistant coach with the Finnish national men's ice hockey team

Achievements

• 1978- European Junior Hockey Championship All-Star Team
• 1978- Named best forward at the European Junior Hockey Championship
• 1983- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1984- NHL Second All-Star Team
• 1985- Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
• 1985- NHL First All-Star Team
• 1985- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1986- NHL Second All-Star Team
• 1986- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1987- NHL First All-Star Team
• 1988- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1989- NHL Second All-Star Team
• 1989- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1990- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1991- World Hockey Championship All-Star Team
• 1993- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1994- World Hockey Championship All-Star Team
• 1998- Played in NHL All-Star Game

Career statistics

				Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1977-78	Jokerit	SM-liiga		29	2	9	11	12		6	1	7	8	2
1978-79	Jokerit	SM-liiga		33	16	14	30	12		--	--	--	--	--
1979-80	Jokerit	SM-liiga		33	23	16	39	22		--	--	--	--	--
1980-81	Edmonton	NHL		75	32	43	75	40		9	5	7	12	4
1981-82	Edmonton	NHL		71	32	54	86	32		5	2	5	7	10
1982-83	Edmonton	NHL		80	45	59	104	22		16	8	15	23	8
1983-84	Edmonton	NHL		64	52	61	113	14		19	14	14	28	13
1984-85	Edmonton	NHL		73	71	64	135	30		18	19	12	31	6
1985-86	Edmonton	NHL		78	68	63	131	22		10	2	10	12	4
1986-87	Edmonton	NHL		79	54	54	108	41		21	15	10	25	20
1987-88	Edmonton	NHL		80	43	53	96	30		19	14	17	31	12
1988-89	Edmonton	NHL		76	44	58	102	69		7	3	5	8	6
1989-90	Edmonton	NHL		78	33	60	93	48		22	10	15	25	18
1990-91	HC Milano	Italy		30	27	48	75	6		10	10	12	22	2
1991-92	Los Angeles	NHL		73	23	27	60	24		4	1	2	3	4
1992-93	Los Angeles	NHL		82	27	60	87	38		24	9	8	17	12
1993-94	Los Angeles	NHL		81	31	46	77	48		--	--	--	--	--
1994-95	Jokerit	SM-liiga		20	10	9	19	10		--	--	--	--	--
	Los Angeles	NHL		38	10	19	29	24		--	--	--	--	--
1995-96	Los Angeles	NHL		57	17	23	40	37		--	--	--	--	--
	NY Rangers	NHL		14	1	4	5	2		11	3	5	8	2
1996-97	Anaheim	NHL		82	13	22	35	12		11	1	2	3	4
1997-98	Colorado	NHL		70	5	17	22	12		4	0	0	0	0
NHL Totals				1251	601	797	1398	545		200	106	127	233	123

See also

• Retired NHL Players
• 50 goals in 50 games
• List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
• Hockey Hall of Fame
• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL seasons

External links

• Video: Gretzky to Kurri
• Gretzky to Coffey to Kurri