Jari Kurri

Jussi

Registered User
Feb 28, 2002
91,020
10,991
Mojo Dojo Casa House
was tikkanen a natural center that the oilers converted to LW? i have a vague memory of him playing some center on the canucks, with mogilny on his wing. but i'm not super certain about that. the scoring logs have him playing a lot of LW with ronning and ridley at C, and mogilny at RW.

No he was a winger.
 

vadim sharifijanov

Registered User
Oct 10, 2007
28,584
15,946
We might find out after the next season, 2018-19, is over. He becomes a free agent.

to continue my kurri / klay comparison--

curry / gretzky: curry isn't the all-round offensive force that gretzky was (no one in any major north american sport has been, of course) but there's certainly a parallel between curry's game-changing 3 point totals and gretzky's insane assist totals. as in, both guys absolutely destroyed what we thought was the ceiling of what was possible, and then destroyed it again.

draymond / messier: inspirational leader, loud guy, occasional hothead.

durant / coffey: each guy missed one of the championships, each guy was just a transcendently otherworldly offensive talent. the most naturally gifted players on their teams.

i would trade durant before letting klay go. like how when one guy had to go, sather chose coffey. both were the best individual talent on their teams, which of course could and usually did go beautifully with the team's passing/possession game. but both guys also at times to the detriment of the team tried to do too much by themselves.


... zaza / anderson: intentionally injures guys / runs goalies.
 
  • Like
Reactions: quoipourquoi

Merya

Jokerit & Finland; anti-theist
Sep 23, 2008
2,279
418
Helsinki
Was it Kurri's comeback season in LA when Wayne got injured and Kurri had to play center to Luc in the autumn and they were rather succesful. Later that season Kurri had some injuries and the dream reuniting never really happened. And it never happened in the following seasons bcs Kurri had lost his edge and was relegated to a defensive role.
 

Puck Dogg

Puck life
Mar 13, 2006
1,812
496
Even though he had two or three very effective seasons as a King, I wonder how he'd be viewed had he stayed retired after the 1990 season.

Reason why Kurri left NHL after 1990 season was to play in Milan, Italy and by that be able to take part in IIHF Worlds that Finland hosted in spring 1991. So he didn't retire, but rather took a year off from NHL.

After his real retirement in 1998 he's been active with Finnish national team and now- KHL team Jokerit who he started his career with.

Random interesting fact: Kurri played in 1980 olympic games the year US took gold, scoring two goals and having one assist in the tournament.
 

The Panther

Registered User
Mar 25, 2014
19,110
15,573
Tokyo, Japan
Was it Kurri's comeback season in LA when Wayne got injured and Kurri had to play center to Luc in the autumn and they were rather succesful. Later that season Kurri had some injuries and the dream reuniting never really happened. And it never happened in the following seasons bcs Kurri had lost his edge and was relegated to a defensive role.
No, his comeback season was 1991-92, the first year in L.A. It was kind of a disaster. The Kings were coming off a 1st-place 1990-91, and with the addition of Kurri, everyone thought they'd be at the top of the League and compete for the Cup. Instead, Gretzky got injured and had family issues early in the season, Kurri slumped quickly, Sandstrom got injured (as usual), and the train went off the rails. They still made the playoffs and had an okay season, but it was a big disappointment. Kurri had to suffer the indignity of being booed by L.A. fans when he touched the puck as the season went on.

But the next year, 1992-93, he was asked to play center with Gretzky out, and suddenly he and Robitaille had this amazing chemistry. Into late November, Kurri was 2nd in League scoring to Mario. Then, the wheels fell off again... until spring '93 when they went on that memorable Cup run.
 

Merya

Jokerit & Finland; anti-theist
Sep 23, 2008
2,279
418
Helsinki
Reason why Kurri left NHL after 1990 season was to play in Milan, Italy and by that be able to take part in IIHF Worlds that Finland hosted in spring 1991. So he didn't retire, but rather took a year off from NHL.

Umm, perhaps. I remember papers writing, that he went to Milan bcs Edmonton didn't trade him to LA to play with Wayne. Don't remember if his marriage was in crisis already by then already bcs of Tiina's alcoholism.
 

Merya

Jokerit & Finland; anti-theist
Sep 23, 2008
2,279
418
Helsinki
No, his comeback season was 1991-92, the first year in L.A. It was kind of a disaster. The Kings were coming off a 1st-place 1990-91, and with the addition of Kurri, everyone thought they'd be at the top of the League and compete for the Cup. Instead, Gretzky got injured and had family issues early in the season, Kurri slumped quickly, Sandstrom got injured (as usual), and the train went off the rails. They still made the playoffs and had an okay season, but it was a big disappointment. Kurri had to suffer the indignity of being booed by L.A. fans when he touched the puck as the season went on.

But the next year, 1992-93, he was asked to play center with Gretzky out, and suddenly he and Robitaille had this amazing chemistry. Into late November, Kurri was 2nd in League scoring to Mario. Then, the wheels fell off again... until spring '93 when they went on that memorable Cup run.

Thanks a bunch Panther! :)
 

Thenameless

Registered User
Apr 29, 2014
3,854
1,788
to continue my kurri / klay comparison--

curry / gretzky: curry isn't the all-round offensive force that gretzky was (no one in any major north american sport has been, of course) but there's certainly a parallel between curry's game-changing 3 point totals and gretzky's insane assist totals. as in, both guys absolutely destroyed what we thought was the ceiling of what was possible, and then destroyed it again.

draymond / messier: inspirational leader, loud guy, occasional hothead.

durant / coffey: each guy missed one of the championships, each guy was just a transcendently otherworldly offensive talent. the most naturally gifted players on their teams.

i would trade durant before letting klay go. like how when one guy had to go, sather chose coffey. both were the best individual talent on their teams, which of course could and usually did go beautifully with the team's passing/possession game. but both guys also at times to the detriment of the team tried to do too much by themselves.


... zaza / anderson: intentionally injures guys / runs goalies.

I agree with your assessment that it would be better for Golden State to keep Klay over Durant, even though Durant is the better player. Klay is one of their core players that they've already won a title with, before Durant came to town. You can tell that there's a very strong chemistry between Curry, Klay, Draymond, and Iguodala as they were used together in the recruiting of Durant in order to form the Hampton 5. While supremely talented, Durant is the outsider of the bunch, and is now talking like a prima donna insisting that he'll get paid what he's worth in the off-season - more of a mercenary attitude than the other four. Klay is better for team chemistry as he doesn't seem to mind the role of Robin to Curry's Batman - not everyone can be the alpha dog.

This is way off-topic now, but it would have been cool to see what Durant/Westbrook/Adams could have done had they stayed together (don't know if Paul George and/or Carmelo would have fit into the salary cap, maybe one would have). They were up on Golden State 3-1 a couple of years ago, and I think Durant gave up prematurely on that team.
 

vadim sharifijanov

Registered User
Oct 10, 2007
28,584
15,946
Coming to think of it: HAS there been a player since Kurri who would be both an elite sniper and a two-way player? Preferably a wing.

well the guy in your avatar scored 56 goals and won the selke

winger? idk. hossa probably doesn’t quite qualify.
 

Sanf

Registered User
Sep 8, 2012
1,943
902
was tikkanen a natural center that the oilers converted to LW? i have a vague memory of him playing some center on the canucks, with mogilny on his wing. but i'm not super certain about that. the scoring logs have him playing a lot of LW with ronning and ridley at C, and mogilny at RW.

In his Liiga career he was winger, but to be honest I do not know if he played center in juniors. He was called up to HIFK during 1983 finals. They brought whole line from their Junior championship team. The original Huey, Dewey and Louie line. But all of them (Rönkkö, Högbacka) were wingers during their Liiga career. So one of them had to play C in juniors. Need to check that out.

Tikkanen also played center during the regular season of 1993-1994 with Rangers IIRC.

Mostly Tikkanen playing center in NT was due to our chronic lack of quality centers.
 

The Panther

Registered User
Mar 25, 2014
19,110
15,573
Tokyo, Japan
There's an interview with Barry Melrose (he of the 90s' mullet), where he recounts the incredible amount of team-planning and strategy that went into Kurri's playing center for the first 1/2 of the 1992-93 season (and sporadically thereafter). Melrose says he went to Kurri in pre-season and said, "Hey Jari, have you ever played center?" And Kurri said something like, "Yes, once or twice in junior." So, Melrose said: "Okay, you're the new top-line center!"

The Kings brass's professionalism knew no bounds in the Gretzky/McNall era.
 

Sentinel

Registered User
May 26, 2009
12,758
4,588
New Jersey
www.vvinenglish.com
well the guy in your avatar scored 56 goals and won the selke

winger? idk. hossa probably doesn’t quite qualify.
Obviously, Feds was the first one I thought of, but he has only done this once. He was not exactly a sniper, or at least wasn't utilized as such. In 1996 playoffs he scored 20 points (without reaching the Finals)... all but 2 of them being assists. Not exactly sniper's creds.

Bure was actually pretty good defensively in Vancouver and certainly in NYR, although he was never in the Selke talks. Same thing with Shanahan -- Bowman made him play left-wing lock, and he regularly killed penalties, while being an elite sniper, but it still wasn't on Selke level (not that he had a prayer on a team with Feds, Yzerman, Draper, and later Datsyuk).

The closest match would probably be Sakic. Not a winger though.
 

Merya

Jokerit & Finland; anti-theist
Sep 23, 2008
2,279
418
Helsinki
Bure was actually pretty good defensively in Vancouver and certainly in NYR, although he was never in the Selke talks.

Please don't compare Bure and Kurri ever again. Those two couldn't be much further from eachother, when it comes to wingers. Despite some myth some want to grow, Bure was the definition of a cherrypicking opportunist winger and for a few years the best in the world at that job. But thats what he was and only that, despite some shorthanded success that came from that same explosive speed.
Bure was a poor mans Selänne at his best and a trainwreck afterwards.
 

Sentinel

Registered User
May 26, 2009
12,758
4,588
New Jersey
www.vvinenglish.com
Please don't compare Bure and Kurri ever again. Those two couldn't be much further from eachother, when it comes to wingers. Despite some myth some want to grow, Bure was the definition of a cherrypicking opportunist winger and for a few years the best in the world at that job. But thats what he was and only that, despite some shorthanded success that came from that same explosive speed.
Bure was a poor mans Selänne at his best and a trainwreck afterwards.
No myth at all. Did you only watch Bure in Florida, where he indeed was the cherry picker? In both Canucks and (especially) Rangers he was quite defensively responsible.

I get it: he creamed Team Finland in Nagano, but -- come on.
 

brachyrynchos

Registered User
Apr 10, 2017
1,472
997
I think Bure was faster and was a better stickhandler, but Kurri was better overall in both skills and the cerebral aspect of the game, that's not a knock against Bure, just more a compliment to Kurri.
 

sr edler

gold is not reality
Mar 20, 2010
11,845
6,289
Please don't compare Bure and Kurri ever again. Those two couldn't be much further from eachother, when it comes to wingers. Despite some myth some want to grow, Bure was the definition of a cherrypicking opportunist winger and for a few years the best in the world at that job. But thats what he was and only that, despite some shorthanded success that came from that same explosive speed.
Bure was a poor mans Selänne at his best and a trainwreck afterwards.

Bure in some seasons didn't play that great defensively, but it's kinda rich coming from a Selänne fan to call him out for cherry picking since Selänne himself did a lot of cherry picking, especially in his famous rookie season. Seriously, I watched some Winnipeg clips from that year and in one of them he was the only player (of both teams) not entering his own zone, and seconds later he's on a breakaway.

When Bure scored one of his goals torching Finland at the 1998 Olympics he picked the defenseman on the PK. You know why Selänne wouldn't score that goal? Because he didn't play on the PK.
 

shazariahl

Registered User
Apr 7, 2009
2,030
59
This intriged me. According to this article it´s because he had played 3 years professional with Jokerit. Don´t remember that rule and weird that Pettersson was eligble, because he had played with Västra Frölunda pro team since 73/74. Guess Pettersson still had amateur status then. Any one that can fill on it?

Calder Dreams: A History of Oilers Rookies
Back then, players were ineligible if they'd played previous pro level hockey. It's the same reason Gretzky didn't win a Calder, and doesn't hold any rookie records, although his assist and point marks his first season would both still stand.
 

feffan

Registered User
Sep 9, 2010
1,949
146
Malmö
Back then, players were ineligible if they'd played previous pro level hockey. It's the same reason Gretzky didn't win a Calder, and doesn't hold any rookie records, although his assist and point marks his first season would both still stand.

You are right of course. And Gretzky missing the Calder is a classic trivia, so it´s more obvious when u inlclude him as u did.

Then the only weird thing is why Kurri was deemed a pro but not Jörgen Pettersson. Guess Pettersson had a job on the side and Kurri didn´t. But seems odd that a 19 year old Kurri was a full blown pro in late 70´s early 80´s in the finnish league. Tought they where on the same or a step lower than the swedish leauge regarding that. So if anyone it should have been 7 year senior veteran Jörgen Pettersson who wasn´t eligable.
 

FerrisRox

"Wanna go, Prettyboy?"
Sep 17, 2003
20,265
12,890
Toronto, Ontario
Wayne Gretzky, of course, was famous for elevating the play of his line mates and making others better.

The biggest compliment I can give Jari Kurri is that he is the only guy I saw play with Gretzky where he made him better and elevated his play.

Gretzky doesn't have his monster goal scoring years without Jari Kurri who's playing making is grossly underrated.
 
Last edited:

krutovsdonut

eeyore
Sep 25, 2016
16,772
9,427
kurri was an excellent two way winger and a lethal cold blooded finisher off the rush or a shot. i think a lot of oilers benefited from gretzky in becoming incredibly calm with the puck in scoring position maybe just from having it happen so often. kurri was at the top of my list on a long list of oilers i did not want to have the puck in a scoring position.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->