Advent Day 17 - Jari Kurri

Perhaps the greatest Finnish-born player to play in the NHL, Kurri came to the league in 1980. He played alongside Gretzky in the golden years of the Oilers, winning 4 Cups before Wayne left for Los Angeles and one in the years following. Kurri's peak came in the 1984-85 season when he scored 71 goals and added 64 assists (135 points, if you can believe Gretzky managed 208 that season).

In '91 he was traded via Philadelphia to the Kings, although reunited with Gretzky his numbers with Los Angeles are nothing compared to the ones he had put up earlier in Edmonton. His form was never on top and the two were often on seperate lines. The team did reach the Finals in '93, although the cup was eventually won by Montreal. In the 1995-96 season he was traded to the Rangers - and when that season ended he was back in California playing for the Ducks. A season later he was in Colorado, where he scored his 600th goal. He would add one more before the season ended and would retire after the playoffs.

Amongst Kurri's achievements he is the second leading scorer in Oiler history, he was the highest scoring European in NHL history, was the first Finnish player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, he played in 8 All-Star games and won the Lady Byng.

His number was retired by Edmonton in 2001, later it was retired by the Finnish national team (a team Kurri played for consistantly throughout his career and now coaches).

More on Kurri's career (and there is a lot more to it) is posted at Legends of Hockey here.

The jerseys in the database can be found here. (And yes, that is the terrible Burger King jersey worn by LA in 1995-96.)

The Gretzky-Kurri magic...