Early years (1977–1980)

He began his pro career with Jokerit in the Finnish SM-liiga. After an eleven-point rookie season for Jokerit in 1977–78, Kurri scored 30 and 39 points the next two years, playing all 33 games in each season.

On March 20, 1979, in a game of seemingly minor consequence at the time, Kurri accompanied the Finnish national team to play in Edmonton, Alberta. The Finns had been invited by the World Hockey Association to play the WHA-leading Edmonton Oilers - while essentially an exhibition game for the Finnish team, the WHA counted the game in its standings. Finland lost the game 8-4, nevertheless Kurri impressed Oilers' management. His performance in Edmonton that night would have a profound impact on his later career.

Edmonton Oilers (1980-1990)

After his third professional season, Kurri was eligible for the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. However, he was also widely believed to still be liable for military service in NHL circles, and thus was ignored by most NHL teams. The Oilers, who had joined the NHL after the WHA merged following the 1978-79 season, had closely tracked Kurri's career after watching him play in Edmonton. They made discreet inquiries to the Finnish government and were able to determine that Kurri had already fulfilled his military service obligations. Taking advantage of this information, the Oilers waited until the fourth round before selecting Kurri with the 69th overall pick. Kurri remains regarded as one of the greatest "steals" in the history of the NHL draft.

When Kurri joined the Oilers, he was soon paired with Wayne Gretzky. Kurri and Gretzky became one of the most prolific scoring duos ever to play in the NHL. Despite not always playing on the same line, Gretzky assisted on 364 of Kurri's 601 career goals, while Kurri had an assist on 196 Gretzky goals.^[2]

During his career in Edmonton, he was nicknamed the "Finnish Flash" (a title since bestowed on Teemu Selänne). Kurri was "by far our most complete player", according to Oilers' director of personnel Barry Fraser. Although Kurri never won the Selke Trophy, he was regarded as one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL. Alongside Kurri, Esa Tikkanen and Gretzky, Edmonton had future hall-of-famers Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Mark Messier. The team won four Stanley Cups during Gretzky's tenure. In 1988, Gretzky was traded, along with team enforcer Marty McSorley, to the Los Angeles Kings. Following Gretzky's trade, Kurri recorded 195 points in 154 games, leading the Oilers to their fifth and last Stanley Cup in 1990.

Kurri won five Stanley Cups, all with Edmonton (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990). In 1984–85 he had 135 points and scored 50 goals in his first 50 games; however, his 50th game was the Oilers' 53rd game so it does not count as an official 50 goals in 50 games. A year later, he led the league in goals with 68. In 1984–85 Kurri set a record for goals by a right winger when he scored 71, which was broken by Brett Hull when he scored 72 goals in 1989–90 (Hull's 86 goals in 1990–91 is the current record). Kurri also scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in game seven against the Philadelphia Flyers in 1987.

Kurri's 19 goals in the 1985 post-season (18 games played) tied an NHL record set by the Flyers' Reggie Leach in the 1976 playoffs (16 games played). Those 19 goals included four hat tricks, a still-standing record in a playoff season. Kurri scored three of the hat tricks against the Blackhawks in the conference finals, also a feat that no player has ever equaled. He scored five goals in a single game, on November 19, 1983. The achievement was not repeated by Finnish player until November 24, 2018 when Patrik Laine had a five-goal-game. Kurri registered three goals and two assists in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Boston, May 18, 1990, setting a record for scoring in a single Finals game in the modern era, on his 30th birthday. Kurri had also set up Petr Klíma's goal in triple overtime in Game 1.

Later career (1990–1998)

Kurri's contract with the Oilers expired in 1990 but his NHL rights were still owned by the Oilers. Instead of accepting a new contract from the Oilers, Kurri opted for a season in Italy and played for Devils Milano of the Italian Serie A. Kurri had 27 goals and 48 assists in 30 games while he played in the Italian league.

After a season in Italy, Kurri's rights were traded to the Philadelphia Flyers and then to the Los Angeles Kings on the same day. He made an impression in his first game as a King, scoring 3 goals on opening night. For the first time since the 1988 trade, Kurri was reunited with Wayne Gretzky. The pair had a fairly successful campaign in 1993 leading the Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals where they faced off against the Montreal Canadiens. Kurri managed to put together 17 points in 24 games during the run, in which the Kings ultimately fell short and lost the series in 5 games. Kurri followed the run up with a few more solid seasons as a Los Angeles King, scoring 146 points in 176 games; his decline in scoring was primarily due to his transition into a more defensive minded forward in a somewhat reduced role. (Though they were back on the same team, by this time he and Gretzky were not usually playing on the same line.)

Kurri's best season for the Kings was during the successful 1992–93 season when Kurri posted 27 goals and 60 assists in 82 games.

During the 1994–95 NHL lockout Jari Kurri represented Jokerit, the team for which he played before his NHL career. Kurri played alongside Teemu Selänne, the 1993 winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy who had established himself as one of the top stars in Finland during early success in the NHL. Kurri had one memorable moment during his visit to SM-liiga when Jokerit faced their local rivals HIFK. Kurri played against his former Oilers-linemate Esa Tikkanen and another Finnish NHL-player, Christian Ruuttu. Kurri, Selänne and Jokerit captain Waltteri Immonen led Jokerit to 4–2 victory over Russian HC Lada Togliatti in 1994 European Cup Finals.

After the lockout Kurri returned to Los Angeles, but was traded to New York Rangers in 1996 for their playoff run.

Kurri played the remainder of the 1995–96 NHL season with the Rangers and posted one goal and four assists in 14 games. While he may not have put up the points the Rangers expected him to at the end of the regular season, Kurri proved some of his value by notching 8 points in 11 playoff games with the Rangers.

After his short period with the Rangers, Kurri signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Kurri intended to play alongside Teemu Selänne and Paul Kariya, but was ultimately reduced to a smaller role on the second and third lines, despite a newfound confidence from rigorous summer training. The Mighty Ducks made it to the playoffs and defeated the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round but were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round.

Kurri with the Avalanche in 1997

After his single season with the Mighty Ducks, Kurri was signed by the Colorado Avalanche, the 1996 Stanley Cup champions. Kurri had a more defensive role with the Avalanche. Kurri's highlight of the season was his 600th NHL career goal, which he scored during a regular season game between the Avalanche and the Kings. Despite having a strong team with players like Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy, the Avalanche were eliminated quickly in the playoffs by the Oilers.

Regular season and playoffs

^ Led league

In bold are NHL record(s) (tied with Reggie Leach)

International