#38 - Jari Kurri

Jari Kurri (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #38)

Adjusted Stats

1980-1981   Edm          77 GP   26 goals   35 assists   61 points     0.80 PPG
1981-1982   Edm          73 GP   25 goals   42 assists   68 points     0.93 PPG
1982-1983   Edm          82 GP   37 goals   48 assists   85 points     1.03 PPG
1983-1984   Edm*        66 GP   42 goals   49 assists   90 points     1.38 PPG
1984-1985   Edm*        75 GP   58 goals   52 assists   110 points   1.46 PPG
1985-1986   Edm          80 GP   54 goals   50 assists   104 points   1.30 PPG
1986-1987   Edm*        81 GP   46 goals   46 assists   93 points     1.15 PPG
1987-1988   Edm*        82 GP   36 goals   45 assists   81 points     0.99 PPG
1988-1989   Edm          78 GP   37 goals   49 assists   86 points     1.10 PPG
1989-1990   Edm*        80 GP   28 goals   51 assists   80 points     0.99 PPG
1991-1992   LA            75 GP   21 goals   34 assists   54 points     0.73 PPG
1992-1993   LA            80 GP   22 goals   50 assists   72 points     0.90 PPG
1993-1994   LA            79 GP   29 goals   43 assists   71 points     0.90 PPG
1994-1995   LA            65 GP   18 goals   33 assists   51 points     0.79 PPG
1995-1996   LA/NYR     71 GP   18 goals   26 assists   44 points     0.62 PPG
1996-1997   Ana           82 GP   14 goals   23 assists   37 points     0.45 PPG
1997-1998   Col            70 GP   6 goals     20 assists   26 points     0.37 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1980-1981   Edm           9 GP     4 goals     5 assists     8 points      0.94 PPG
1981-1982   Edm           5 GP     2 goals     4 assists     5 points      1.09 PPG
1982-1983   Edm           16 GP   6 goals     12 assists   18 points    1.12 PPG
1983-1984   Edm*         19 GP   12 goals   12 assists   25 points    1.31 PPG
1984-1985   Edm*         18 GP   14 goals   9 assists     23 points    1.29 PPG
1985-1986   Edm           10 GP   2 goals     9 assists     10 points    1.04 PPG
1986-1987   Edm*         21 GP   13 goals   9 assists     22 points    1.07 PPG
1987-1988   Edm*         19 GP   11 goals   13 assists   23 points    1.23 PPG
1988-1989   Edm           7 GP     3 goals     4 assists     7 points      0.98 PPG
1989-1990   Edm*         22 GP   8 goals     13 assists   21 points    0.96 PPG
1991-1992   LA             4 GP     1 goal       2 assists     3 points     0.66 PPG
1992-1993   LA             24 GP   7 goals     7 assists     14 points    0.58 PPG
1995-1996   NYR          11 GP   3 goals     5 assists     8 points      0.70 PPG
1996-1997   Ana            11 GP   1 goal      2 assists     3 points      0.29 PPG
1997-1998   Col             4 GP     0 goals    0 assists     0 points      0.00 PPG

Career - 1296 GP, 517 goals, 696 assists, 1213 points, 0.94 PPG
Career-Highs - 58 goals (84-85); 52 assists (84-85); 110 points (84-85); 1.46 PPG (84-85)
Avg. (17 seasons) - 76 GP, 30 goals, 41 assists, 71 points, 0.94 PPG
Peak Avg. (82-90) - 78 GP, 42 goals, 49 assists, 91 points, 1.17 PPG, 5 Cups

Playoff Career - 200 GP, 87 goals, 106 assists, 190 points, 0.95 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 14 goals (84-85); 13 assists (87-88); 25 points (83-84); 1.31 PPG (83-84)

Accolades - 1 Lady Byng
All-Star Teams - 2-time 1st-team, 3-time 2nd-team
5-time Stanley Cup Champion

For the eight years from 1982 to 1990, Jari Kurri was pretty much as good as it gets for a right-winger: an average of 42 goals, 91 points, and 5 Stanley Cup championships. How much of this was due to the fact that he played alongside Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player of all-time, is up for debate. In the profile on Kurri done by The Hockey News, the terms "lucky" and "right-place, right-time" came up more than once.


Well, as Kurri himself said, "Clearly, Wayne Gretzky helped me a lot in my career. But I think I helped him a little too". And indeed, he did. Kurri was an extremely quick, defensively responsible winger who was the perfect linemate for Gretzky. A Brett Hull-type might not have clicked quite as well with Gretzky (and certainly, they didn't during Gretzky's brief stint in St. Louis). But Kurri took advantage of his opportunity and put together a career that made him not only one of the best right-wingers to ever play, but also a legend in his native Finland and one of the most beloved European players the NHL has seen.

It should be recognized that Kurri was still very good even in the years separated from Gretzky: in 1989 and 1990, he still had over 80 adjusted points, even though his goal totals went down. And of course, what cements Kurri's legacy even further is the fact that he is one of the highest scoring players in postseason history. No player scored more goals than Kurri during the Oilers' five championship runs. And the totals, even after being adjusted for the high-scoring 80s, are remarkable: 87 goals and 190 points in 200 career playoff games, a higher per-game average for the postseason than his regular season numbers. In all five of the Oilers' championship runs, Kurri scored 20+ adjusted points in the postseason, and in four of five had 10+ goals. This contribution when it mattered most is what separates Kurri from, say, Teemu Selanne, who while no doubt more consistently prolific over a longer period of time didn't have the same impact in April and May.

As Kurri got older, he developed more into a 50-70 point, second-line/third-line winger. Eventually the numbers sagged and it was clear that Kurri's time was up.  What he always maintained was his class and dignity. He's one of my favourite players, a true ambassador for both Finland and for the game of hockey in general. If anyone deserved the luck of playing with Gretzky, it was Kurri.