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 and scored 50 goals in his first 50 games, however his 50th game was the Oilers' 53rd game so it does not count as an official 50 goals in 50 games. 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 indeed was often the recipient of Gretzky's passes, but it was Kurri who turned chances into goals with his brilliant finishing ability. Kurri was not alone a sniper, he was quoted as "by far our most complete player" by Oilers' director of personnel Barry Fraser. Although Kurri never won the Selke Trophy, he was regarded as one of the best defensive forwards in NHL.
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. His number 17 is retired by Oilers and Finnish national team.
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
- Jari Kurri player page in Hockey Hall of Fame