Jari kurri and wayne gretzky biography

During that time he also realized another dream by playing for the Finnish Junior National Team in , , and Kurri scored what proved to be the biggest goal of his early career at the European Junior Championship against the Soviet Union, in double overtime, to capture Finland's first gold medal. For his efforts, Kurri was named the Best Forward at the tournament.

Later he tied for the tournament scoring lead at the World Junior tournament, capturing Finland's first WJC medal, a silver. His efforts earned him a berth on Finland's Olympic Team and led the Edmonton Oilers to select him 69th overall in that summer's Entry Draft. Speaking only a little English, Kurri was initially hesitant about a move across the Atlantic Ocean to an unknown land, but Finnish players with the Oilers-- Matti Hagman and Risto Siltanen--convinced him it was the best move to make.

Jari reluctantly made the jump, planning to spend two years in Canada before returning home. The NHL season began slowly for both him and the Oilers while head coach Glen Sather struggled to find the proper line combinations. Blair McDonald started the season on the number-one line with Wayne Gretzky, but things were not working and by Christmas it was Jari's turn to play with Wayne.

Jari kurri and wayne gretzky biography

Instantly the magic was created and one of the most lethal combinations in NHL history was born. Over the next eight seasons, the duo wowed NHL crowds everywhere they went, not only breaking records Similar to his years in Finland, Kurri's play steadily improved. He recorded a point season in and reached the goal mark the following year, the first Finnish-born player to reach both marks.

The Oilers also captured the Stanley Cup in , beginning a run of four championships in five years. During that time, Kurri recorded career highs of 71 goals and points in a single season record for goals by a right-winger , capturing the Lady Byng Trophy and finishing second to Gretzky in the scoring race. During the playoffs he recorded 19 goals on the way to the Stanley Cup , tying the playoff goal scoring record set by Reggie Leach in From to , the "Master of the One-Timer" recorded four consecutive goal seasons and led the playoffs in goals each time the Oilers won the Cup.

Despite capturing only one major award throughout this period, Kurri was honoured with two First Team and two Second Team All-Star berths. In he led the league in goals scored with Internationally, Kurri played for Finland at the and Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal in at Nagano. At the World Championships he competed for Finland in , , , and , and he was on their Canada Cup team in , , and , often limited by his NHL responsibilities.

When Kurri joined the Oilers, he was soon paired with Wayne Gretzky. Kurri and Gretzky became one of the most prolific scoring duos ever to play in the NHL. Despite not always playing on the same line, Gretzky assisted on of Kurri's career goals, while Kurri had an assist on Gretzky goals. Kurri was "by far our most complete player", according to Oilers' director of personnel Barry Fraser.

The team won four Stanley Cups during Gretzky's tenure. Following Gretzky's trade, Kurri recorded points in games, leading the Oilers to their fifth and last Stanley Cup in Kurri won five Stanley Cups , all with Edmonton , , , and In —85 he had 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 led the league in goals with In —85 Kurri set a record for goals by a right winger when he scored 71, which was broken by Brett Hull when he scored 72 goals in —90 Hull's 86 goals in —91 is the current record. Kurri also scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in game seven against the Philadelphia Flyers in Kurri's 19 goals in the post-season 18 games played tied an NHL record set by the Flyers' Reggie Leach in the playoffs 16 games played.

Those 19 goals included four hat tricks, a still-standing record in a playoff season. Kurri scored three of the hat tricks against the Blackhawks in the conference finals, also a feat that no player has ever equaled. He scored five goals in a single game, on November 19, The achievement was not repeated by the Finnish player until November 24, , when Patrik Laine had a five-goal game.

Kurri registered three goals and two assists in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Boston, on May 18, , setting a record for scoring in a single Finals game in the modern era, on his 30th birthday. Kurri had 27 goals and 48 assists in 30 games while he played in the Italian league. He made an impression in his first game as a King, scoring 3 goals on opening night.

For the first time since the trade, Kurri was reunited with Wayne Gretzky. The pair had a fairly successful campaign in leading the Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals where they faced off against the Montreal Canadiens. Kurri managed to put together 17 points in 24 games during the run, in which the Kings ultimately fell short and lost the series in 5 games.

Kurri followed the run up with a few more solid seasons as a Los Angeles King, scoring points in games; his decline in scoring was primarily due to his transition into a more defensive-minded forward in a somewhat reduced role. Though they were back on the same team, by this time he and Gretzky were not usually playing on the same line. Kurri's best season for the Kings was during the successful —93 season when Kurri posted 27 goals and 60 assists in 82 games.

Kurri played the remainder of the —96 NHL season with the Rangers and posted one goal and four assists in 14 games. While he may not have put up the points the Rangers expected him to at the end of the regular season, Kurri proved some of his value by notching 8 points in 11 playoff games with the Rangers. The Mighty Ducks made it to the playoffs and defeated the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round but were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round.

Kurri had a more defensive role with the Avalanche. Kurri's highlight of the season was his th NHL career goal, which he scored during a regular season game between the Avalanche and the Kings. Despite having a strong team with players like Joe Sakic , Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy , the Avalanche were eliminated quickly in the playoffs by the Oilers.

Kurri finished his career as the highest-scoring European-born-and-trained player in NHL history, with goals, assists, and 1, points. Stan Mikita , who was born in Slovakia, but raised in Canada, retired 18 seasons before Kurri with assists and 1, points. Kurri finished with career playoff goals and playoff points, third all-time behind Gretzky and Messier.

He is the third leading point-scorer in Oilers history, with 1, points in games, behind Gretzky and Connor McDavid. His No. In addition, the Jari Kurri trophy is given to the most valuable player in the SM-liiga playoffs. In addition, he was the first Finn to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame , doing so in Kurri also had a lengthy international career for the Finnish national team.

Kurri debuted during Winter Olympics when Finland played in the Olympic ice hockey tournament. Kurri scored two goals and an assist in his international debut. Kurri was part of the Finnish national team during Canada Cup.