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| 1980 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Jari Kurri
Selected in
fourth round
No. 69 overall by Edmonton Oilers
Born May 18, 1960
 | Position:
Right Wing
Height: 6-0 Weight:
185
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Helsinki Jokerit (Finland)
Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland
Hometown:
Helsinki, Finland |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM |
| 1976-77 |
Helsinki Jokerit | Fin. Jr. |
18 | 4 |
6 | 10 |
4 | | 1977-78 |
Helsinki Jokerit | Fin. Jr. |
5 | 5 |
4 | 9 |
2 | | |
Helsinki Jokerit | Finland |
29 | 2 |
9 | 11 |
12 | | 1978-79 |
Helsinki Jokerit | Fin. Jr. |
2 | 1 |
1 | 2 |
2 | | |
Helsinki Jokerit | Finland |
33 | 16 |
14 | 30 |
12 | | 1979-80 |
Helsinki Jokerit | Fin. Jr. |
6 | 7 |
2 | 9 |
13 | | |
Helsinki Jokerit | Finland |
33 | 23 |
16 | 39 |
22 | | |
Team Finland | Int'l |
8 | 3 |
1 | 4 |
0 |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
Olympics: 1980 (fourth place)
World Junior Championships: 1979 (fourth), 1980 (silver)
European Junior
Championships: 1978 (gold medal)
European Junior Championships Best
Forward: 1978
World Junior Championships Points Leader: 1980 (11
points, tie)
Miscellaneous: Scored in second overtime vs. Soviet Union to give Finland
the 1978 European Junior Championships gold medal. ... Was expected to sign two-year commitment to Finnish
national team and military in 1980, thereby hurting his status in draft.
Edmonton was the only team that knew Kurri would not sign such a commitment
and would rather play in the NHL, because chief scout Barry Fraser looked
into situation and knew Kurri was available. Ironically, Kurri originally
planned to play only one or two seasons in the NHL before return to Finland. ... Also played
left wing during his junior career in Finland. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: October 10, 1980 (Quebec at Edmonton)
Numbers: 17 (Edmonton) (number retired); 17
(Los Angeles);
17 (N.Y. Rangers); 17 (Anaheim); 17 (Colorado)
Stanley Cup: 1984,
1985, 1987, 1988, 1990
Playing Status: Retired May 4, 1998 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | | 1980-1998 |
Edmonton, LA, NYR,
Anaheim, Colorado | 1,251 |
601 | 797 |
1,398 | 545 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | | 1981-1998 |
Edmonton, LA, NYR,
Anaheim, Colorado | 200 |
106 | 127 |
233 | 123 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
HOCKEY HALL OF FAME:
Inducted 2001
Lady Byng Trophy: 1984-85 (Edmonton)
NHL All-Star First Team: 1984-85, 1986-87 (Edmonton)
Sporting News All-Star First Team: 1984-85 (Edmonton)
Hockey News All-Star First Team: 1986-87 (Edmonton)
NHL All-Star Second Team: 1983-84, 1985-86, 1988-89 (Edmonton)
Sporting News All-Star Second Team: 1985-86, 1988-89 (Edm.)
All-Star Game: 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990 (Edmonton), 1993 (Los
Angeles), 1998 (Colorado)
Stanley Cup Finals (Lost): 1983 (Edmonton), 1993 (Los Angeles)
Edmonton Feldman Trophy (MVP): 1988-89
Los Angeles Outstanding Defensive Player: 1992-93, 1993-94
NHL Records: Most hat tricks in one playoff year (4 in 1985),
most hat tricks in one playoff series (3 vs. Chicago in 1985), most goals in
one playoff series (12 vs. Chicago in 1985), most goals in one playoff year
(19 in 1985, shares record), most power-play goals in one playoff game (3 vs.
Los Angeles on April 9, 1987, shares record), most shorthanded goals in one
playoff period (2 in third period vs. Chicago on April 24, 1983, shares
record), most points by a European-born and trained player (1,398)
Edmonton Records: Most assists in one
period (4 in second period at Winnipeg on Oct. 7, 1983, shares record), most
hat tricks in one playoff year (4 in 1985), most hat tricks in one playoff
series (3 vs. Chicago in 1985), most goals in one playoff series (12 vs.
Chicago in 1985), most goals in one playoff year (19 in 1985), most points in
one period (5 in second period vs. Los Angeles on Oct. 26, 1984), most goals
in one game (5 on Nov. 19, 1983, vs. New Jersey), most power-play goals in one
playoff game (3 vs. Los Angeles on April 9, 1987), most power-play goals in
one playoff period (2 in third period vs. Los Angeles on April 9, 1987), most
points in one season by a right wing (135 in 1984-85), most goals in one
season by a right wing (71 in 1984-85), most points in one season by a rookie
(75 in 1980-81), most assists in one season by a rookie (43 in 1980-81), most
20-goal seasons (10), most consecutive 20-goal seasons (10), most 30-goal
seasons (10), most consecutive 30-goal seasons (10), most career playoff goals
(92), most playoff goals by a rookie (5 in 1981, shares record), most goals in
one playoff game (4 at Chicago on May 16, 1985 and vs. Los Angeles on April 9,
1987, shares record), most game-winning goals in one playoff year (5 in 1987),
most playoff points by a rookie (12 in 1981, shares record), most career
playoff power play goals (22, shares record), most shorthanded goals in one
playoff series (2 vs. Chicago in 1983, shares record), most shorthanded goals
in one playoff game (2 in third period vs. Chicago on April 24, 1983)
100-Point Seasons: 1982-83 (Edmonton) (104), 1983-84 (Edmonton) (113),
1984-85 (Edmonton) (135), 1985-86 (Edmonton) (131), 1986-87 (Edmonton) (108),
1988-89 (Edmonton) (102)
50-Goal Seasons: 1983-84 (Edmonton) (52),
1984-85 (Edmonton) (71), 1985-86 (Edmonton) (68), 1986-87 (Edmonton) (54)
NHL Goals Leader: 1985-86 (Edmonton) (68 goals)
NHL Game-Winning Goals Leader: 1985-86 (Edmonton) (9, tie)
NHL Playoffs Goals
Leader: 1984 (Edmonton) (14 goals), 1985 (Edmonton) (19 goals), 1987
(Edmonton) (15 goals), 1988 (Edmonton) (14 goals)
Edmonton Points
Leader: 1988-89 (102)
Edmonton Goals Leader: 1985-86 (68),
1987-88 (43, tie)
Edmonton Playoffs Goals Leader: 1984 (14), 1985 (19), 1987
(15), 1988 (14), 1989 (3)
Miscellaneous: Ranked by The Hockey News in 1997 as the 50th
greatest NHL player of all time. ... Was first European drafted in 1980 and
spoke no English when he arrived in Edmonton. ... Had assist in first NHL game.
... Played on line with Wayne Gretzky for Edmonton from December 1980 through
1987-88 season. ... Missed part of 1981-82 season with pulled groin, an
injury suffered during Edmonton's Nov. 24, 1981, practice. ... Became first
Finnish-born player to score 100 points in an NHL season when he achieved feat
in 1982-83. ... Was runner-up to Bobby Clarke for 1982-83 Selke Trophy. ...
Tied NHL record (since broken) for assists in one period (4 in second period
at Winnipeg) on Oct. 7, 1983. ... Missed part of 1983-84 season with pulled groin muscle, an injury suffered in
January 1984. ... Set NHL record (since broken) for consecutive games with at
least one assist with 15 in 1983-84. ... Set NHL single-season record (since
broken) for goals by a right wing with 71 in 1984-85. ... Became third player
in NHL history (with Phil Esposito and Wayne Gretzky) to score 70 goals in a
season when he achieved feat in 1984-85. ... Became first European-born player
to score 60 goals in an NHL season when he achieved feat in 1984-85. ...
Missed part of 1985-86 season with eye injury, suffered during Edmonton's Nov.
17, 1985, game at N.Y. Rangers. ... Named NHL Player of Week for week of March
8, 1986. ... Became first European-born player to lead
NHL in goals when he achieved feat in 1985-86. ... Was runner-up to Mike Bossy
for 1985-86 Lady Byng Trophy. ... Finished fifth in voting for 1985-86 Selke
Trophy. ... Scored at 6:50 of overtime to give Edmonton 3-2 win over
Philadelphia in Game 2 of Stanley Cup Finals on May 20, 1987. ... Scored
Stanley Cup-clinching goal for Edmonton in Game 7 of Edmonton's Stanley Cup
Finals series vs. Philadelphia on May 31, 1987. ... Missed part of 1988-89
season with sprained MCL in left knee, an injury suffered when he was checked
by Michel Petit during Edmonton's Feb. 12, 1989, game at N.Y. Rangers. ... Led
all Campbell Conference right wings in balloting for 1989 NHL All-Star Game
with 197,528 votes. ... Became first player other than Wayne Gretzky to lead
Edmonton in points when he achieved feat with 102 points in 1988-89. ...
Scored 1,000th NHL point for Edmonton with assist during Jan. 2, 1990, game at
St. Louis. ... Became NHL's all-time leader in playoff goals (record since broken) when he
scored his 90th goal for Edmonton on May 18, 1990. ... Missed parts of 1991-92
season with sprained shoulder, an injury suffered during Los Angeles' Nov. 12,
1991, game at Vancouver, with hip injury, and with the flu, contracted in January 1992.
... Began playing center, as well as right wing, for Los Angeles during
1992-93 season. ... Scored 500th career NHL goal for Los Angeles on Oct. 17,
1992, vs. Boston. ... Named NHL Player of Month for November 1992. ... Scored
100th career NHL playoff goal for Los Angeles during Game 3 of Campbell
Conference final series vs. Toronto on May 21, 1993. ... Missed parts of
1993-94 season with knee contusion, an injury suffered during Los Angeles'
Nov. 6, 1993, game vs. Pittsburgh, and with bruised knee, suffered in December
1993. ... Broke Peter Stastny's record for NHL points by a European player
with his 1,222nd NHL point on Dec. 8, 1993, vs. Florida. ... Played final 13
games of 1993-94 regular season with broken foot, an injury suffered during
Los Angeles' March 19, 1994, game vs. San Jose. ... Missed parts of 1995
season with strained hip flexor, an injury suffered during Los Angeles' March
11, 1995, game at Winnipeg, with strained groin, suffered during Los
Angeles' March 20, 1995, game vs. St. Louis, re-aggravated during Los Angeles'
March 26, 1995, game at San Jose and re-aggravated again during Los Angeles'
April 7, 1995, game at Calgary. ... Played his 1,000th NHL game for Los
Angeles on Feb. 11, 1995, at Toronto. ... Missed part of 1995-96 season with
broken right thumb, suffered when he was slashed during Los Angeles'
Dec. 20, 1995, game vs. Vancouver. ... Missed part of 1997-98 season with back
injury, suffered during Colorado's Nov. 16, 1997, game at N.Y. Rangers. ...
Considered retirement after 1996-97 season but came back to NHL for one more
year so that he could score his 600th career NHL goal and be sharp for the
1998 Olympics. ... Scored 600th career NHL goal for Colorado on Dec. 23, 1997,
vs. Los Angeles, becoming the first European player to achieve that feat. ... Announced on Dec. 9, 1997, that he would retire
immediately after 1997-98 season. ... Edmonton retired Kurri's No. 17 on
Oct. 6, 2001.
Kurri Goes to Italy: In
1990, just weeks after winning the Stanley Cup with Edmonton, Kurri and his
agent, Don Baizley, shocked the Oilers with an announcement that he would
leave the NHL to play in Italy the following season. Although he had been
offered more money to return to Edmonton, Kurri, a restricted free agent, said
his main goal was to be available for the 1991 World Championships in his
native Finland. On July 27, 1990, the 30-year-old Kurri signed a two-year deal
with the Milan Devils, owned by Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, who
also owned the AC Milan soccer team and would later become Italy's prime
minister. The contract, worth $350,000 per season, also included free housing
and instantly made Kurri the highest-paid hockey player in European hockey
history. It also gave Kurri the option of returning to the NHL after only one
season. Although the deal was worth less than half of what Edmonton was
offering ($800,000), Kurri stuck to principles, insisting that he wanted to
play for Finland in 1991. He knew that Edmonton general manager Glen Sather
would never let him leave the team in the middle of the 1991 playoffs and
would otherwise miss out on a chance to play in his home country. Kurri
fulfilled his goal in 1991 and then determined that he wanted to return to the
NHL for the 1991-92 season, particularly if he could once again play on a line
with Wayne Gretzky in Los Angeles. Edmonton, however, still owned Kurri's
free-agency rights and a deal would have to be worked out with any team he
joined. Although Sather had no desire to trade Kurri within the division to
Los Angeles, Baizley forced Sather to make a deal with the Kings after Kurri
signed an offer sheet with Los Angeles on May 30, 1991. Three hours after
learning that Kurri had signed the offer sheet, Sather arranged a three-way
trade with the Kings and Flyers, enabling Kurri to officially join his new
team via Philadelphia. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams: Team Finland; Milan Devils
(Italy); Helsinki Jokerit (Finland)
Olympics: 1998
(bronze medal), 2002 (5-8 place) (as assistant coach)
NHL-USSR Rendez-vous Series: 1987
Canada Cup: 1981
(sixth place), 1987 (sixth place), 1991 (third place)
World Cup of Hockey: 1996
(fifth place)
World Championships: 1982 (fifth place), 1989 (fifth
place), 1991 (fifth place), 1994 (silver medal), 2003 (5-8 place) (assistant
coach)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
IIHF Hall of Fame: Inducted 2000
Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame:
Inducted 1998
World Championships All-Star First
Team: 1991, 1994
Finnish Hockey Journalists' Finland Player of Year:
1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89,
1989-90 (Edmonton)
Finland World Cup of Hockey
Captain: 1996
World Championships Points Leader: 1991 (12, tie)
Miscellaneous: Missed part of
1990-91 season with knee injury, suffered in January 1991. ... Played for Helsinki
Jokerit during NHL lockout of 1994-95. ... A star tennis player, he
won Helsinki's Bermuda Cup tournament for athletes and celebrities each year
from 1983 to 1985. ... Was active in charitable causes during his playing days
in Edmonton, including work with United Way and NHL/Royal Canadian Mounted
Police anti-drug program. ... Ran hockey camp in Helsinki during off-seasons
of his playing days. ... Published his autobiography, Kurri 17, in
Finland in December 1997. ... Invested in Helsinki sports-theme restaurant
that opened in June 1998, and also worked as hockey color commentator in
Finland after his retirement.. ... Became active in Oldtimers' charity hockey
in Finland after retirement. ... Played in Heroes of Hockey game at NHL
All-Star Weekend in 2000 and 2001. ... The Finnish Ice Hockey Association
named the SM-Liiga playoff MVP award the Jari Kurri Trophy, beginning in
1993-94. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| FREE AGENCY/TRADE: Kurri did not sign with
Edmonton after the 1989-90 season and went to Europe as a restricted free
agent. He signed an offer sheet with Los Angeles on May 30, 1991, forcing
Edmonton to make a three-way deal in order to transfer his rights to Los
Angeles rather than enter an inevitable dispute over compensation. Edmonton traded Kurri,
Dave Brown and Corey Foster to Philadelphia in exchange for Craig Fisher,
Scott Mellanby and Craig Berube on May 30, 1991. Philadelphia then traded
Kurri and Jeff Chychrun to Los Angeles in exchange for Steve Duchesne, Steve
Kaper and 1991 fourth-round pick (Aris Brimanis) on May 30, 1991. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '80 | | Total Selected: |
210 | | Forwards: |
122 | | Defense: |
71 | | Goaltenders: |
17 | | Major Junior: |
138 | | Tier II Junior: |
7 | | College Players: |
42 | | High School: |
8 |
| Canadian: |
159 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
3 | | USA Citizens: |
35 | | U.S.-Born: |
35 |
| European: |
13 |
| Reached NHL: |
132 |
| Won Stanley Cup: |
24 | | Hall of Fame: |
4 |
| All-Star Game: |
17 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
5 |
| Olympians: |
19 |
| Picks Traded: |
25 |
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