Does Jari Kurri Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Or, rather, is Jari Kurri the Greatest Finnish Hockey Player of All Time?

Kurri was a huge offensive star in the ’80s but, of course, he was playing on the wing of the greatest offensive hockey player the world has ever seen.

Listen to us talk about Kurri’s place in history here:

The Hall of Fame Class of 2001: Fetisov, Kurri, Gartner, Hawerchuk

Jari Kurri’s Career:

  • NHL:
    • 1980-98; 17 seasons, 15 quality
    • Totals:
      • 601G (20th All Time, 2nd Finn; 9th at his retirement),
      • 797A (1st Finn All Time; 20th All Time at his retirement) for
      • 1398P (21st All Time, 2nd Finn; 14th at his retirement)
      • +304 (1st Finn; 23rd All Time at his retirement) in
      • 1251 Games (3rd Finn)
      • 117.4 PS (2nd Finn)
      • Kurri is 2nd among Finish born players in Offensive Point Shares; tt his retirement, Kurri was 19th All Time in Offensive Point Shares
    • Per Game: 
      • 20th All Time in PPG 
    • Draft: Drafted 69th overall in 1980, Kurri is
      • 1st in Goals
      • 4th in Assists
      • 2nd in Points
      • 1st in Plus/Minus
      • 4th in Point Shares
      • 4th in Games
    • Era: Of the 9 players to play in at least 1230 games (15 seasons) between 1980 and 1998, all but one of whom are in the Hall of Fame, Kurri is
      • 3rd in Goals and GPG
      • 7th (3rd last) in Assists
      • 6th in APG
      • 5th in Points and PPG
      • 4th in Plus/Minus
      • 5th in Offensive Point Shares (3rd Forward)
      • 8th (2nd last) in Defensive Point Shares
      • 6th in Point Shares
    • 82-game average: 39G, 52A for 92P, +20
    • 3-year peak (1983-86): 80-game average of 71G, 70A for 141P, +60
    • No possession stats
    • Playoffs:
      • 106G (3rd All Time),
      • 127A (7th) for
      • 233P (3rd),
      • +102 (1st) in
      • 200 Games (22nd All Time)
      • Per Game:
        • 10th All Time in Playoff GPG
        • 8th All Time in Playoff PPG
      • Era: Of the 178 players to play in at least 82 playoff games between 1980 and 1998, Kurri is
        • 3rd in Goals
        • 6th in GPG
        • 4th in Assists
        • 17th in APG
        • 3rd in Points
        • 6th in PPG
        • 1st in Plus/Minus (obviously)
  • Adjusted:
    • Hockey-Reference:
      • 503G
      • 682A for
      • 1185P
      • 82-game average: 33G, 45A for 78P (-14P per 82 games)
      • Per Game: Not in the Top 25; However, if the qualifier is set to 1230 games (15 seasons) Kurri is
        • 19th All Time in Adjusted GPG
        • 22nd All Time in Adjusted PPG
    • VsX:
      • 502G
      • 746A
      • 1,113P
      • Per Game: Not in the Top 25; However, if the qualifier is set to 1230 games, Kurr is
        • 21st All Time in VsX Adjusted GPG
  • Trades:
    • 3 team trade at 31:
      • First, traded with Dave Brown (28) and Corey Foster (21) to Philadelphia for Craig Fisher (19), Scott Mellanby (24) and Craig Berube (25)
      • Then, traded with Jeff Chychrun (25) to Los Angeles for Steve Duchesne (25), Steve Kasper (29) and a 1991 4th Rounder (Aris Brismanis)
    • Traded at 34 with Marty McSorley (32) and Shane Churla (30) to the Rangers for Ray Ferraro (31), Ian Laperriere (22), Mattias Norstrom (24) and a 1997 4th Rounder (nobody)
  • WHA:
    • 1978-79; 1 game
    • 0G, 0A for 0P

Jari Kurri’s Accomplishments:

  • Top 5 in Selke voting four times
  • Top Player:
    • Top 5 Player (by PS) twice (‘85, ‘86)
    • Top 10 three times (‘87)
    • Top 5 Offensive Player (by OPS) four times (‘84, ‘85, ‘86, ‘87)
    • Top 10 five times (‘89)
  • Goals:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Led NHL in Goals once
      • Top 5 four times
    • GPG leader-boards:
      • Led NHL in GPG twice
      • Top 5 four times
    • Single-season totals:
      • 70 goals once (1 of only 8 players ever)
      • 65 goals twice (1 of only 6 players ever)
      • 50 goals four times (1 of only 14 players ever)
      • 45 goals five times (1 of only 18 players ever)
      • 40 goals seven times (1 of only 17 players ever)
      • 30 goals eleven times (1 of only 19 players ever)
      • 25 goals twelve times
      • 20 goals thirteen times
  • Assists:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Top 10 in Assists three times
    • APG leader-boards:
      • Top 10 in APG twice
    • Single-season totals:
      • 60 assists five times
      • 50 assists ten times (1 of only 16 players)
      • 40 assists twelves times
  • Points:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Top 5 three times
      • Top 10 six times
    • PPG leader-boards:
      • Top 5 in PPG four times
      • Top 10 five times
    • Single-season totals:
      • 130 points twice (1 of only 8 players ever)
        • 110 points three times (1 of only 15 players ever)
      • 100 points six times (1 of only 15 players ever)
      • 90 points eight times (1 of only 11 players ever)
      • 80 points ten times (1 of only 14 players ever)
      • 70 points twelves times (1 of only 21 players ever)
      • 60 points thirteen times
  • Plus/Minus:
    • Top 5 in Plus/Minus twice
    • Top 10 three times
  • All Star:
    • 1st Team All Star twice
    • 2nd team All Star three times
    • 8 All Star Game appearances
  • VsX Peak:
    • Best 7 Seasons:
      • Goals: 35th All Time
      • Assists: 108th All Time
      • Points: 48th All Time
    • Best 10 Seasons:
      • Goals: 35th All Time
      • Assists: 87th All Time
      • Points: 53rd All Time

Jari Kurri’s Great Teams:

  • NHL:
    • Top 3 Forward (by points) on four Champions (‘84, ‘85, ‘88, ‘90 Oilers) and one Runner Up (‘83 Oilers)
    • Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Champion (‘87 Oilers) and one Runner Up (‘93 Kings)
  • Olympics:
    • Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Bronze (‘98 Finland)
  • Canada/World Cup:
    • Best Player??? (by points?) on one “Bronze” (‘91 Finland)
  • World Championships:
    • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Runner Up (‘94 Finland)
  • World Juniors:
    • Best Player (by points) on one Runner Up (‘80 Finland)
  • European Juniors:
    • Best Player??? (by points?) on one Champion (‘78 Finland)

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