Kurri, Jarri
Hockey
b. May 18, 1960, Helsinki, Finland
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Kurri joined the NHL's Edmonton Oilers in 1980 after playing for the Finnish Olympic team. He scored more than 100 points five seasons in a row, 1982-83 through 1986-87, with a high of 135 points in 1984-85.
Kurri led the Nhl with 68 goals in 1985-86. A sharp-shooter and excellent passer, he was a linemate of Wayne Gretzky, and some critics felt he owed a great deal of his success to the "Great One." However, after Gretzky went to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, Kurri scored 195 points in 154 over the next two seasons, becoming the 25th player in NHL history with more than 1,000 career points.
He left Edmonton in a contract dispute and played in Italy during the 1990-91 season, then rejoined Gretzky in Los Angeles. They helped lead the Kings to their first Stanley Cup finals appearance in 1993.
During the next three seasons, Kurri was frequently bothered by injuries. He was traded to the New York Rangers near the end of the 1995-96 season and then signed with Might Ducks of Anaheim as a free agent.
Kurri then thought about retiring, but he hoped to score his 600th career goal first, so he signed with the Colorado Avalanche for the 1997-98 season. He did become the eighth player to score 600 goals that year and he retired after Colorado was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
Kurri is the highest scoring European-born player in NHL history, with career totals of 601 goals and 797 assists for 1,398 points. A first-team All-Star in 1985 and 1987, Kurri won the 1985 Lady Byng Trophy for combining a high standard of play and sportsmanship. He was on five Stanley Cup championship teams, in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990.