What you think about Kurri?

[Bring Back Bucky]

Don't forget Esa Tikkanen either.

I would never dream of forgetting ESa, but like Coffey, he wasn't a part of all five cups. I love him anyway

 

[Ogopogo*]

I would never dream of forgetting ESa, but like Coffey, he wasn't a part of all five cups. I love him anyway

Esa will forever have a special place in my world because of his AMAZING performance in game 7 of the 1991 playoffs vs. Calgary.

It was one of the most brilliant, clutch playoff performances by any player ever.

Long live the memory of Esa.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Esa will forever have a special place in my world because of his AMAZING performance in game 7 of the 1991 playoffs vs. Calgary.

It was one of the most brilliant, clutch playoff performances by any player ever.

Long live the memory of Esa.

bLESS ET and Bless you too, Ogo, for reminding me of his outstanding game.

 

[Aki Berg]

Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen were some of Aki's biggest idols.

It's good to see that Aki has taken over as the role model for every child in Finland.

 

[RorschachWJK]

Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen were some of Aki's biggest idols.

It's good to see that Aki has taken over as the role model for every child in Finland.

 

[chooch*]

I would never dream of forgetting ESa, but like Coffey, he wasn't a part of all five cups. I love him anyway

I'm sure you do love him, as much as that dorky looking guy in your avatar, king of donair.
Must be that symbiosis thing

 

[se7en*]

As an NYI fan, I knew the Oilers were going to win that '84 series immediately after Game One. Why? Because the pulled out a very tight, low-scoring squeaker on the opponent's ice. (McLelland deflection, as I recall). The previous Oiler teams were incapable of winning those types of playoff games, at least against NYI. Even though NYI took Game Two handily (Gillies hatrick), there was no looking back for the Oilers.

I have Game 3, 4 and 5 on tape. It must have been an amazing time to be an Edmontonian. The first Cup is always the most special, so they say.

You have some interesting thoughts. Throughout game 3 there are comments from players about what happened. It looked like Messier's goal to tie 2-2 was the turning point of the series. He said the Isles would never let the Oilers play their game. Moose said "That goal changed it into an Oiler series, an Oiler type game. And once that happened we just steamrolled them". In the final minute of the 2nd period, Anderson gave the Oilers a 3-2 lead, and only seconds later, Coffey scored on a rattled Smith to make it 4-2. The Oilers never looked back, and a dynasty was born.

That was a really classy move by Potvin.

On the subject of "first Cups are always the best", I can't imagine what it would have been like to be an Isles fan, winning the 1st Cup in overtime on HOME ICE. Man, I hope we get treated to such an amazing experience someday!

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

I'm sure you do love him, as much as that dorky looking guy in your avatar, king of donair.
Must be that symbiosis thing

Hi again, thanks for the extra attention, but please stick to the topic..

One of my favorite things about Kurri is that he learned a lot of his English from watching "Happy Days" reruns..

 

[mattihp]

Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen were some of Aki's biggest idols.

It's good to see that Aki has taken over as the role model for every child in Finland.

As far as I know Aki had not many idols he held in higher esteem than old TPS legend Hannu Virta and Kärpät legend Reijo Ruotsalainen. I can't say I've ever heard Aki say a word about Esa nor Jari in any interview.

 

[jiggs 10]

Jari Kurri is second only to Mike Bossy in scoring instinct in the 37+ years I have been following hockey. He scored with Gretzky, he scored after Gretzky, and he played defense the whole way. He is sooo much better than Jagr because he actually prevented a few goals. One of the all-time greats.

 

[SamiK]

Gretzky's example

Actually no. Kurri was a great player himself and the perfect linemate for 99. The friendship and chemistry these two had was remarkable. Kurri was as great without Gretzky while Gretzky's totals went down the year he got traded. So all in all both helped each other a lot and were 2 of the 5 big parts of the edmonton dinasty. (the other 3 were Coffey, Messier and Fuhr)

This is a quote from a magazine article by Tom Callahan (Time Jan 9 '84):

"Accompanying Gretzky, the Oilers do have talent in unusual abundance: Kurri, Messier (an all-star without the benefit of playing on G's line), Anderson, Coffey. All of them are trying to perform at the level of Gretzky. He lifts them. Says Kurri: "[...]But he plays up here, and so I try to play up there too.[...]I haven't changed my style, but I've changed my standards."

Do you think that Gretzky's example made the other Oilers stars become better players, because he set a new standard for them?

 

[zoidberg]

I as well concur with that statement. He is by far my favourite player of all time, his skills were just sublime IMO, definetaly a guy who could play on my top line anyday, and what outstanding hair he had.

On a side note, Pavel Datsyuk reminds me a lot of Kurri when he played, very similar looking stride and crafty with the puck.

Ridiculous, another Flames fan who's favorite player is Kurri? I have to admit even though I love my Flames, Kurri was my favorite player from the minute I started following hockey. I have an LA Kings jersey with his name on it (I couldn't fathom putting an Oilers jersey on). Such a sniper he was, I was more of a passer when I played but I learned all my hockey moves from him! Even though they didn't pan out.

 

[kruezer]

Ridiculous, another Flames fan who's favorite player is Kurri? I have to admit even though I love my Flames, Kurri was my favorite player from the minute I started following hockey. I have an LA Kings jersey with his name on it (I couldn't fathom putting an Oilers jersey on). Such a sniper he was, I was more of a passer when I played but I learned all my hockey moves from him! Even though they didn't pan out.

What are the odds Zoid, its hard being a Kurri fan and a Flame fan, its sure can ruin a good conversation with another Flame fan eh? I can't tell you how many times a Flame fan has doubted my loyalty because Kurri rocks, but then I recite every player in the Flames organization and they bow before my die-hardness

 

[Lowetide]

What are the odds Zoid, its hard being a Kurri fan and a Flame fan, its sure can ruin a good conversation with another Flame fan eh? I can't tell you how many times a Flame fan has doubted my loyalty because Kurri rocks, but then I recite every player in the Flames organization and they bow before my die-hardness

Would this be an appropriate time for me to mention that I was always astonished at just how good those late 80s Flames teams were, and that among my favourite players of that era were Lanny, McCrimmon and Loob?

Those were great battles, even the pre-season Oil-Flames games were terrific.

 

[kruezer]

Would this be an appropriate time for me to mention that I was always astonished at just how good those late 80s Flames teams were, and that among my favourite players of that era were Lanny, McCrimmon and Loob?

Those were great battles, even the pre-season Oil-Flames games were terrific.

I think this is exactly the time LT, I think the History board is the perfect place to mention this, keep it away from the more trafficted boards anyway .

And somehow I just knew you'd be a McCrimmon fan.

 

[Ogopogo*]

This is a quote from a magazine article by Tom Callahan (Time Jan 9 '84):

"Accompanying Gretzky, the Oilers do have talent in unusual abundance: Kurri, Messier (an all-star without the benefit of playing on G's line), Anderson, Coffey. All of them are trying to perform at the level of Gretzky. He lifts them. Says Kurri: "[...]But he plays up here, and so I try to play up there too.[...]I haven't changed my style, but I've changed my standards."

Do you think that Gretzky's example made the other Oilers stars become better players, because he set a new standard for them?

I think so.

Most evident is Mario Lemieux. Before the 1987 Canada Cup, Lemieux was a lazy, selfish underachiever. When he had the chance to practice and play with Gretzky, he learned what greatness was really all about. He saw Gretzky's commitment, intensity and his ability to rise to the occasion and learned from it.

It is possible that Mario would never have been that great if it wasn't for what he learned from Gretzky during the '87 Canada Cup.