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Jari Pekka 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.
He began his pro career 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 was reunited with Wayne Gretzky. He was traded to the New York Rangers in 1996, where he played for a half 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). 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. In 1983-84 Kurri set a record for right wingers in goals when he scored 71 goals. The record lasted for seven years and was broken by Brett Hull when he scored 86 goals in 1990-91.
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 four hat tricks in the conference finals, another feat that no player has ever equalled.
During his tenure in Edmonton, he was nicknamed the "Finnish Flash". While he was definitely a very talented player, Kurri was helped by the fact that he often played with Gretzky (every 5th goal Gretzky scored was assisted by Kurri, while he assisted on 60% of Kurri's goals.) Kurri was often the recipient of Gretzky's passes, but he turned chances into goals with his brilliant finishing ability. Kurri was not a lone sniper; he was "by far our most complete player" according to Oilers' director of personnel Barry Fraser. Although Kurri never won the Selke Trophy, he was regarded as one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL.
Although past his prime when he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, he still had an a strong postseason which helped the team make the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.
He is the first Finn to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His 1398 points are 18th all-time, and the second highest among Europeans behind Jaromir Jagr. 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. His #17 is retired by the Oilers and the Finnish national men's ice hockey team.
He has a trophy named after him in the SM-liiga; the Jari Kurri trophy. Kurri is currently the General Manager of the Finnish national men's ice hockey team. He married former Miss Finland, Vanessa Kurri, née Forsman, in 2004; they have two daughters, Odessa and Alissa. Kurri also has twin boys (Joonas and Ville) from his first marriage to Tiina Kurri. Gretzky is the godfather to Kurri's children.
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
- 2001- Inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame
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 | 50 | 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
- List of 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
- List of NHL players with 1000 points
- List of NHL players with 500 goals
External links
- Video: Gretzky to Kurri
- Gretzky to Coffey to Kurri
- Jari Kurri player page in Hockey Hall of Fame
- Jari Kurri at nhlfinns.com
1960 births | Colorado Avalanche players | Edmonton Oilers players | Finnish ice hockey players | Finnish Stanley Cup winners | Hockey Hall of Fame | IOC members | Jokerit players | Lady Byng winners | Living people | Los Angeles Kings players | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players | New York Rangers players | National Hockey League 100-point seasons | People from Helsinki | Stanley Cup champions | Winter Olympics medalists
Jari Kurri | Jari Kurri | ヤリ・クリ | Jari Kurri | Jari Kurri
"Jari Kurri"