St. Urho's Day

While many anticipate tomorrow's celebration of Irish and Irish-American culture, St. Patrick's Day, who is said to have driven all the snakes out of Ireland, many are unaware that today is a similar celebration of Finnish culture, St. Urho's Day.

In reality, St. Urho is a fictional saint of Finland, whose legend was the invention of Finnish-American Richard Mattson of Virginia, Minnesota in 1956. Mattson invented St. Urho when questioned by coworker Gene McCavic about the Finns lack of a saint similar to St. Patrick for the Irish.

Mattson and McCavic wrote an "Ode to St. Urho", in which he was to have supposedly cast the frogs out of Finland, similar to St. Patrick and the snakes of Ireland. The original St. Urho's Day was set to May 24th, but later changed to today, March 16th, the day before St. Patrick's Day, with credit to high school teacher Kenneth Brist and friends in an effort to have two days to celebrate, what with St. Patrick's Day being the very next day.

Not only did the date of St. Urho's Day change, but so did the legend under the influence of Dr. Sulo Havumaki, a professor at Bemidji State College in Bemidji, Minnesota, as the legend of St. Urho now credits the fictional saint with driving all the grasshoppers out of Finland, thus saving the Finnish grape crop, and therefore the country's supply of wine by chanting "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen", which translates to "Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to hell!"

St. Urho is said to have saved the Finnish grape crop

by driving the Grasshoppers out of Finland

In addition to celebrating Finnish heritage and culture, as well as being an excuse to drink somewhat heavily, like the wearing of the green by the Irish, St. Urho's celebrants traditionally wear Royal Purple and Nile Green.

There has even been a book published on St. Urho, The Legend of St. Urho, which chronicles the origins and folklore of the man, the myth and the legend of St. Urho.

The statue of St. Urho in Menahga, Minnesota

The Finland National Team first appeared at the World Championships back in 1939. Their next appearance was not until 1949 when they became regulars at the World Championships. A perennial mid-pack team, it took them until 1992, a span of over 40 years, to earn their first medal of any kind. Once the floodgates opened, they captured silver in 1992 and 1994 before reaching the pinnacle with World Championship gold in 1995.

Finland celebrates their first World Championship after arriving back home

Two fifth places in 1996 and 1997 followed before a run of four medals in row with silver in 1998 and 1999, bronze in 2000 and silver once more in 2001. A bit of a slide saw then finish 4th, 5th, 6th then 7th from 2002 through 2005 before returning to the medal podium with bronze in 2006, silver in 2007 and bronze again in 2008. Finland won their second gold medal in 2011, captained by Mikko Koivu. Two more silver medals have since followed in 2014 and in 2016.

Finland's captain Mikko Koivu is thrilled to hoist

the World Championship trophy

Finland's hockey team first appeared at the Winter Olympics in 1952, and aside from 1956, has appeared in each Olympic hockey tournament since, becoming a regular medal contender in the mid 1970's, with a fourth places in 1978 and 1980. They won their first medal in 1988 with a silver and took bronze in both 1994 and 1998. In 2006 they again won silver followed by bronze medals in both 2010 and 2014 to give them medals in three consecutive Olympics for the first time.

Jere Lehtinen, Saku Koivu and Ville Peltonen enjoying their final success as

a trio at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver where they won bronze medals

Finland has also participated in the Canada Cup and it's successor, the World Cup of Hockey, taking home the silver medal in the 2004 World Cup in the seven times it has competed.

The Finland National Team has now retired the numbers of #14 Raimo Helminen, #17 Jarri Kurri, #8 Teemu Selanne, #11 Saku Koivu, 26 Jere Lehtinen and #16 Ville Peltonen.

Today's first featured jersey is a 1991 Finland National Team Jari Kurri jersey as worn in the 1991 World Cup. This jersey was produced by Tackla out of Finland and features a short-lived cartoonish lion's head logo, which was actually the logo of a Finnish sponsoring bank, that was quickly replaced by a new shield-style logo which remains in use today.

Today's second featured jersey is a 1996 Finland National Team Raimo Helminen jersey from the inaugural World Cup of Hockey. Note that this is a #14 jersey, not the #41 Finland retired for Helminen. This attractive "waving flag" style of jersey marked Nike's entry into being the jersey supplier for the IIHF, which continues to this day. This style was worn through the 1997 World Championships until new styles were debuted for the 1998 Olympics.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Today's third featured jersey is a 2004 Finland National Team Teemu Selanne jersey. Finland first wore this style for the 1998 Oympics in Nagano, Japan with the crest reading "Suomi". For the 2002 Olympics, the crest was altered to read "Finland" with Suomi now printed boldly across the waist. This would be the final appearance for this jersey, as Nike would introduce a new style for the 2005 World Championships.

Today's fourth featured jersey is a 1995 Finland National Team Saku Koivu jersey. This is the same style jersey used in the 1994 Olympic games and, while branded as a Reebok jersey, they were produced by Tackla using their mesh fabric and dye sublimation process. Visually, the only difference between the Olympic jerseys and the World Championship versions are the additions of the Warsteiner sponsorship patches to each arm.

Today's fifth featured jersey is a 1996 Finland National Team Jere Lehtinen jersey. One year after Finland won the World Championship in a Reebok branded Tackla produced jersey, Nike became the official supplier to the IIHF for the World Championships and the Olympic Games. Following their debut at the 1996 World Championships in the spring, Nike also outfitted all of the teams at the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in the fall of 1996.

Their "waving flag" style of jerseys took Tackla's sublimation techniques to further extremes, as they introduced gradients to the international scene. These jerseys were also worn for the 1997 World Championships until being replaced by new styles for the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Today's sixth featured jersey is a 1995 Finland National Team Ville Peltonen jersey. This is the home white version of the blue road jersey shown above as worn during the 1995 World Championships, differentiated from the 1994 Olympics by the Warsteiner beer sponsorship patches on the upper arms.

In today's video section, Finland's finest moment in hockey, winning their first World Championship in 1995 against their rivals Sweden and in Sweden.

Here are highlights of Finland winning the 2011 World Championship.

Finally, a Finnish Nike commercial featuring Mikko Koivu, Ruutu, Selanne, Filppula and Peltonen.

Itsenäisyyspäivä - Finnish Independence Day

Itsenäisyyspäivä , or Finnish Independence Day, is celebrated with the customary public flag displays and decorations in the blue and white of the Finnish flag and most businesses remain closed for the day as people attend parades, concerts, festivals and street parties. There is also an annual military parade each year.

The festivities begin with the traditional raising of the flag in Tähtitominmäki (Observatory Hill) in Helsinki, followed by a service at the Cathedral of Helsinki, where the President of Finland is present prior to hosting a televised banquet known as Linnan juhlat (The Party at the Castle) in the evening for around 2000 invited guests with war veterans in attendance as the guests of honor.

Some people still keep with the Finnish Independence Day tradition of putting two candles in the window at night, a sign in earlier days that invited friendly troops into that home for food and shelter and symbolize the light of freedom or one candle for home and the other for homeland.

The Finland National Team first appeared at the World Championships back in 1939. Their next appearance was not until 1949 when they became regulars at the World Championships. A perennial mid-pack team, it took them until 1992, a span of over 40 years, to earn their first medal of any kind. Once the floodgates opened, they captured silver in 1992 and 1994 before reaching the pinnacle with World Championship gold in 1995.

Finland celebrates their first World Championship after arriving back home

Two fifth places in 1996 and 1997 followed before a run of four medals in row with silver in 1998 and 1999, bronze in 2000 and silver once more in 2001. A bit of a slide saw then finish 4th, 5th, 6th then 7th from 2002 through 2005 before returning to the medal podium with bronze in 2006, silver in 2007 and bronze again in 2008. Finland won their second gold medal in 2011, captained by Mikko Koivu. Two more silver medals have since followed in 2014 and earlier this year in 2016.

Finland's captain Mikko Koivu is thrilled to hoist

the World Championship trophy

Finland's hockey team first appeared at the Winter Olympics in 1952, and aside from 1956, has appeared in each Olympic hockey tournament since, becoming a regular medal contender in the mid 1970's, with a fourth places in 1978 and 1980. They won their first medal in 1988 with a silver and took bronze in both 1994 and 1998. In 2006 they again won silver followed by bronze medals in both 2010 and 2014 to give them medals in three consecutive Olympics for the first time.

Jere Lehtinen, Saku Koivu and Ville Peltonen enjoying their final success as
a trio at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver where they won bronze medals

Finland has also participated in the Canada Cup and it's successor, the World Cup of Hockey, taking home the silver medal in the 2004 World Cup in the seven times it has competed.

The Finland National Team has now retired the numbers of #14 Raimo Helminen, #17 Jarri Kurri, #8 Teemu Selanne, #11 Saku Koivu, 26 Jere Lehtinen and #16 Ville Peltonen.

Today's first featured jersey is a 1991 Finland National Team Jari Kurri jersey as worn in the 1991 World Cup. This jersey was produced by Tackla out of Finland and features a short-lived cartoonish lion's head logo which was quickly replaced by a new shield-style logo which remains in use today.

Today's second featured jersey is a 1996 Finland National Team Raimo Helminen jersey from the inaugural World Cup of Hockey. Note that this is a #14 jersey, not the #41 Finland retired for Helminen. This attractive "waving flag" style of jersey marked Nike's entry into being the jersey supplier for the IIHF, which continues to this day. This style was worn through the 1997 World Championships until new styles were debuted for the 1998 Olympics.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Today's third featured jersey is a 2004 Finland National Team Teemu Selanne jersey. Finland first wore this style for the 1998 Oympics in Nagano, Japan with the crest reading "Suomi". For the 2002 Olympics, the crest was altered to read "Finland" with Suomi now printed boldly across the waist. This would be the final appearance for this jersey, as Nike would introduce a new style for the 2005 World Championships.

 

Today's fourth featured jersey is a 1995 Finland National Team Saku Koivu jersey. This is the same style jersey used in the 1994 Olympic games and, while branded as a Reebok jersey, they were produced by Tackla using their mesh fabric and dye sublimation process. Visually, the only difference between the Olympic jerseys and the World Championship versions are the additions of the Warsteiner sponsorship patches to each arm.

Today's fifth featured jersey is a 1996 Finland National Team Jere Lehtinen jersey. One year after Finland won the World Championship in a Reebok branded Tackla produced jersey, Nike became the official supplier to the IIHF for the World Championships and the Olympic Games. Following their debut at the 1996 World Championships in the spring, Nike also outfitted all of the teams at the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in the fall of 1996.

Their "waving flag" style of jerseys took Tackla's sublimation techniques to further extremes, as they introduced gradients to the international scene. These jerseys were also worn for the 1997 World Championships until being replaced by new styles for the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Today's sixth featured jersey is a 1995 Finland National Team Ville Peltonen jersey. This is the home white version of the blue road jersey shown above as worn during the 1995 World Championships, differentiated from the 1994 Olympics by the Warsteiner beer sponsorship patches on the upper arms.

Everyone loves a parade, and Finland is no exception, only their Independence Day happens during a slightly colder time of year than we are used to in North America. Check out the group at 6:09 of part 1. We can't tell if they are enjoying the parade, or just waiting to finally cross the street. We won't blame you if you skip ahead to part 2, which contains some cool military hardware.

Check this out, from Heinola, Finland - the World Sauna Championships!

Sauna Championships not exciting enough for you? Perhaps the World Wife Carrying Championships are more your style, where the winner receives his wife's weight in beer.

Next is Finland's finest moment in hockey, winning their first World Championships in 1995 against their rivals Sweden and in Sweden.

Here are highlights of Finland winning the 2011 World Championship.

Finally, a Finnish Nike commercial featuring Mikko Koivu, Ruutu, Selanne, Filppula and Peltonen.

1991 Finland National Team Jari Kurri Jersey

Born on this date in 1960 in Helsinki, Finland, Jari Kurri began his professional career in 1977-78 at the age of 17 with Jokerit of the Finnish SM-liiga. Later that same season saw the beginning of his long and illustrious international career by being named the Best Forward at the 1978 European Junior Hockey Championships after scoring 6 goals and 8 points in 4 games.

His next international appearance was at the 1979 World Junior Championships where he scored 5 points in 6 games.

1980 was a busy one for Kurri on the Finland National Team, as he first competed in a second World Juniors, where he tied for the tournament scoring lead with 11 points in 5 games as Finland captured the silver medal on home ice in Helsinki.

Kurri then played 8 games with the national team in preparation for the Olympics, which commenced just five weeks after the World Juniors. Finland's loss to the United States on the final day, after leading going into the third period, cost them a medal as they placed fourth, a single point behind Sweden.

After completing the 1979-80 season with Jokerit, Kurri then joined the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL, a team on the verge of a Stanley Cup dynasty. The next time Kurri suited up for Finland was at the 1981 Canada Cup prior to the upcoming NHL season. The 1981-82 season would be the final one prior to the freight train that was the 1980's Oilers getting up to full speed, and Edmonton's first round exit of the 1982 playoffs gave him one final opportunity for the time being to participate in the World Championships where he scored 7 points in 7 games.

With the Oilers going to the Stanley Cup Finals for the next five seasons, Kurri's appearances in the World Championships were now on hiatus. It would be five six years before he would wear Finland's blue and white again, this time for the 1987 edition of the Canada Cup.

After a fourth Stanley Cup with Edmonton in 1988, an early playoff exit in 1989 allowed Kurri to once again skate in the spring's annual World Championships, where he impressed with 9 points in 7 games.

The Oilers rebounded in 1990 to win the 5th Stanley Cup of Kurri's carer prior to his taking a year away from the NHL to play hockey in Italy for a season, where he had a clause in his contract which made certain he was available for the 1991 World Championships hosted by Finland. Playing in front of his fellow countrymen, Kurri was in top form, scoring 6 goals and 6 assists in 10 games.

His NHL rights were traded from Edmonton to Philadelphia and later the same day to Los Angeles in May of 1991, but before joining the Kings and being reunited with Oilers teammate Wayne Gretzky, Kurri captained Finland at the 1991 Canada Cup tournament.

Up to this point, Finland had been admittedly a mid-pack team, never having won a medal at the World Championships and only one at the Olympics, that coming in 1988 with a silver. Things began to change in 1992 when Finland earned their first World Championship medal, a silver, although Kurri was not present.

He was present however, when Finland returned to the medal podium in 1994, aided by Kurri's 10 points in 8 games, as they came up just short of the gold by losing in the final 2-1 after a shootout in his final World Championship appearance.

His next opportunity to skate for Finland came in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, the successor to the Canada Cup.

Finally, in 1998 when the NHL put it's season on hold to allow it's players to compete, Kurri made only his second Olympics, 18 years after his first, which concluded with a 3-2 win over Canada to earn the Finns a bronze medal, the third medal of his long international career.

His playing days came to an end following the conclusion of the 1997-98 NHL season with Kurri the highest scoring European-born player in NHL history with over 600 goals to his credit. His number 17 was retired by both the Oilers and the Finland National Team. He was also inducted to the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000 and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001, the first Finn ever inducted.

Kurri is currently the general manager of the Finland National Team, who just won their second World Championship in their history this past Sunday.

Today's featured jersey is a 1991 Finland National Team Jari Kurri jersey as worn in the 1991 World Cup. This jersey was produced by Tackla out of Finland and features a short-lived cartoonish lion's head logo which was quickly replaced by a new shield-style logo which remains in use today.

Today's video selection is highlights of Finland at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, which includes Kurri scoring a goal on Canada's Patrick Roy.

1988-89 Edmonton Oilers Jari Kurri Jersey

It was on this date in 1983 at home in Edmonton versus the New Jersey Devils and goaltenders Ron Low and later Glenn Resch that Jari Kurri scored five goals in a single game, still the only Finnish player to ever do so in an NHL game. The five goals in one game is an Oilers record he shares with Wayne Gretzky and Pat Hughes.

Kurri also holds the Oiler record for Most Points in One Period with five, on two goals and three assists versus the Los Angeles Kings on October 26, 1984 against Darren Eliot, and shares the Oiler record for Most Assists in One Period with four in the second period against the Winnipeg Jets and goaltender Bryan Hayward on October 7, 1983, which is also the NHL record as well.

Other Oiler records to Kurri's credit are;

• Most Points in One Season by a Right Wing - 135
• Most Goals in One Season by a Right Wing - 71
• Most Points in One Season by a Rookie - 75
• Most Assists in One Season by a Rookie - 41
• Most 20 Goal Seasons - 10
• Most Consecutive 20 Goal Seasons - 10
• Most 30 Goal Seasons - 10
• Most Consecutive 30 Goal Seasons - 10
• Most Career Playoff Goals - 92
• Most Playoff Goals by a Rookie - 5
• Most Playoff Goals in One Game - 4
• Most Game-Winning Goals in One Playoff Year - 5
• Most Playoff Points by a Rookie - 12
• Most Career Playoff Power Play Goals - 22
• Most Shorthanded Goals in One Playoff Series - 2
• Most Shorthanded Goals in One Playoff Game - 2

Kurri is second in Oiler history in career goals with 474, third in career assists with 569, second in career points at 1,043.

He is fourth in single season goals with 71, third in career playoff assists with 110, third in career playoff points with 202. His 19 goals in one playoff year is also he NHL record.

Other NHL records Kurri holds are;

• Most Hat Tricks in One Playoff Year - 4
• Most Hat Tricks in One Playoff Series - 3
• Most Goals in One Playoff Series - 12
• Most Power Play Goals in One Playoff Game - 3
• Most Shorthanded Goals in One Playoff Period - 2
• Most Points by a European-born and Trained Player - 1,398

Kurri finished his NHL career with five Stanley Cup Championships the 1985 Lady Byng Trophy, 601 goals, 797 assists and 1398 points in 1251 games.

Kurri shares a moment with an old friend

Internationally, Kurri played in the World Junior Championships twice, in 1979 and again in 1980, earning a silver medal while scoring the most points, the European Junior Championships in 1978 winning gold and being named Best Forward of the tournament. He also competed for Finland in the Canada Cup in 1981, 1987 and 1991, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey where he was team captain, the World Championships in 1982, 1989, 1991 and 1994, when he earned a sliver medal, as well as the Winter Olympics in 1998, earning a bronze medal.

Kurri on his way to winning a bronze medal at the 1998 Olympics

His #17 was retired by Jokerit Helsinki, the Edmonton Oilers and the Finnish National Team. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998, the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

Today's featured jersey is a CCM 1988-89 Edmonton Oilers Jari Kurri jersey and features the Edmonton Oilers 10th Anniversary patch. This is a bit of an odd patch since the Oilers were founded in 1972 as one of the original members of the WHA. This would make 1988-89 the Oilers 16th Anniversary season. This patch was clearly meant to commemorate the Oilers 10th Anniversary of joining the NHL following the demise of the WHA in 1979, a league the NHL chooses to pretend never actually existed.

There is also an image of a single Stanley Cup in the patch, but the Oilers had actually won four cups at that point, something most teams would have probably driven home by putting multiple images of the cup on the patch, as the Islanders would do three seasons later.

Here is a tribute video from the night the Oilers retired Kurri's #17.

1988-89 Edmonton Oilers Jari Kurri Jersey

On this date in 1997, Jari Kurri became the first European-trained player, and just the 8th one ever to score 600 goals in the NHL.

Kurri began playing for Jokerit Helsinki in the Finnish SM-liiga in 1977-78 and played for three seasons before being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers 69th overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. During his last season in Finland, Kurri scored 39 points in 33 games.

He joined the Oilers for the 1980-81 season, the Oilers second in the NHL, and was soon paired with Wayne Gretzky. During his ten seasons with the Oilers Kurri would never score less than 32 goals in a season and averaged 47.4 per year as well as five consecutive seasons with over 100 points. His best offensive season would come in the 1984-85 season when he would set career highs with 71 goals (in 73 games) and 64 assists for 135 points. The following season he would lead the NHL in goal scoring with 68, the first European to do so.

Kurri would win five Stanley Cups while with the Oilers in 1984, 1985, 1987, when he would score the game winning goal in Game 7, 1988 and 1990.

He remains the only Finnish player to score five goals in a game, which he did on November 19, 1983.

When Kurri's contract with the Oilers expired, he played one season in Italy for HC Milano, scoring 27 goals and 48 assists for 74 points in 30 games. While in Italy, Kurri's rights would be traded to the Philadelphia Flyers and then the Los Angeles Kings, which would allow Kurri to be reunited with Gretzky once more. They would team up to return to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993 during Kurri's five seasons in Los Angeles.

He would return to Jokerit during the lockout of 1994-95 and would, along with Teemu Selanne, capture the 1995 European Cup Finals.

The following season would see him play the majority of the season with Los Angeles before being dealt to the New York Rangers and be reunited with former Oilers teammate Mark Messier for 14 games.

1996-97 would see Kurri sign on with the Might Ducks of Anaheim before moving on to the Colorado Avalanche for his final NHL season of 1997-98. It was while in Colorado that Kurri would score his 600th career goal against his former team, the Los Angeles Kings, by redirecting a pass at 3:21 of the first period to open the scoring of a 5-1 Colorado victory. He was only the eighth player in NHL history to reach the 600 goal plateau.

He would finish his career as the highest scoring European-born player in NHL history with 601 goals, 797 assists and 1,398 points. In addition, he would total 106 career playoff goals and 127 assist for an additional 233 points, third only behind Gretzky and Messier.

Internationally, Kurri has appeared for Finland in the 1978 European Junior Championships, the 1979 and 1980 World Juniors, the 1982, 1989, 1991 and 1994 (earning a silver medal) World Championships, the 1981 and 1987 and 1991 Canada Cup, the 1996 World Cup and the 1980 and 1988 Olympics, where he would win a Bronze medal in a 3-2 win over Canada where Kurri would score the first goal of the game and the last goal of his career.

In 2001 he would become the first Finn elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame and his #17 has been retired by the Edmonton Oilers, Jokerit Helsinki and the Finnish National Team. In addition, the Most Valuable Player in the SM-liiga playoffs is awarded the Jari Kurri Trophy.

Today's featured jersey is a CCM 1988-89 Edmonton Oilers Jarri Kurri jersey which features the Edmonton Oilers 10th Anniversary patch. This patch is a bit odd since the Oilers were founded in 1972 as one of the original members of the World Hockey Association. This would make 1988-89 the Oilers 16th Anniversary season, but the patch was clearly meant to commemorate the Oilers 10th Anniversary of their entry into the NHL following the demise of the WHA, a league the NHL chooses to pretend never actually existed.

Here is a brief video of Kurri scoring his 600th career NHL goal.

Next up is the Edmonton Oilers retiring Kurri's #17 jersey.

1988-89 Edmonton Oilers Jari Kurri Jersey

It was on this date in 1983 at home in Edmonton versus the New Jersey Devils and goaltenders Ron Low and later Glenn Resch that Jari Kurri scored five goals in a single game, still the only Finnish player to ever do so in an NHL game, an Oilers record he shares with Wayne Gretzky and Pat Hughes.

Kurri also holds the Oiler record for Most Points in One Period with five, on two goals and three assists versus the Los Angeles Kings on October 26, 1984 against Darren Eliot, and shares the Oiler record for Most Assists in One Period with four in the second period against the Winnipeg Jets and goaltender Bryan Hayward on October 7, 1983, which is also the NHL record as well.

Other Oiler records to Kurri's credit are;

• Most Points in One Season by a Right Wing - 135
• Most Goals in One Season by a Right Wing - 71
• Most Points in One Season by a Rookie - 75
• Most Assists in One Season by a Rookie - 41
• Most 20 Goal Seasons - 10
• Most Consecutive 20 Goal Seasons - 10
• Most 30 Goal Seasons - 10
• Most Consecutive 30 Goal Seasons - 10
• Most Career Playoff Goals - 92
• Most Playoff Goals by a Rookie - 5
• Most Playoff Goals in One Game - 4
• Most Game-Winning Goals in One Playoff Year - 5
• Most Playoff Points by a Rookie - 12
• Most Career Playoff Power Play Goals - 22
• Most Shorthanded Goals in One Playoff Series - 2
• Most Shorthanded Goals in One Playoff Game - 2

Kurri is second in Oiler history in career goals with 474, third in career assists with 569, second in career points at 1,043.

He is fourth in single season goals with 71, third in career playoff assists with 110, third in career playoff points with 202. His 19 goals in one playoff year is also he NHL record.

Other NHL records Kurri holds are;

• Most Hat Tricks in One Playoff Year - 4
• Most Hat Tricks in One Playoff Series - 3
• Most Goals in One Playoff Series - 12
• Most Power Play Goals in One Playoff Game - 3
• Most Shorthanded Goals in One Playoff Period - 2
• Most Points by a European-born and Trained Player - 1,398

Kurri finished his NHL career with five Stanley Cup Championships the 1985 Lady Byng Trophy, 601 goals, 797 assists and 1398 points in 1251 games.

Internationally, Kurri played in the World Junior Championships twice, in 1979 and again in 1980, earning a silver medal while scoring the most points, the European Junior Championships in 1978 winning gold and being named Best Forward of the tournament. He also competed for Finland in the Canada Cup in 1981, 1987 and 1991, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey where he was team captain, the World Championships in 1982, 1989, 1991 and 1994 earning a sliver medal as well as the Winter Olympics in 1998, earning a bronze medal.

His #17 was retired by Jokerit Helsinki, the Edmonton Oilers and the Finnish National Team. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998, the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

Today's featured jersey is a CCM 1988-89 Edmonton Oilers Jari Kurri jersey and features the Edmonton Oilers 10th Anniversary patch. This is a bit of an odd patch since the Oilers were founded in 1972 as one of the original members of the WHA. This would make 1988-89 the Oilers 16th Anniversary season. This patch was clearly meant to commemorate the Oilers 10th Anniversary of joining the NHL following the demise of the WHA in 1979, a league the NHL chooses to pretend never actually existed.

There is also an image of a single Stanley Cup in the patch, but the Oilers had actually won four cups at that point, something most teams would have probably driven home by putting multiple images of the cup on the patch, as the Islanders would do three seasons later.

Here is a tribute video from the night the Oilers retired Kurri's #17.

1988-89 Edmonton Oilers Jari Kurri Jersey

Born on May 18th, 1960, Jari Kurri played 3 seasons for Jokerit Helsinki before joining the Edmonton Oilers and being paired up with linemate Wayne Gretzky. Kurri would go onto win five Stanley Cups in a 17 year career, play in 8 All-Star Games, win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and score a career high 71 goals in 1984-85. He finished his career as the highest scoring European player in NHL history with a total of 601 goals, 797 assists and 1,398 points, having now only been surpassed by Jaromir Jagr. He was ranked #50 in The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Players in 1998.

Today's jersey is a 1988-89 Edmonton Oilers Jari Kurri jersey and features the Edmonton Oilers 10th Anniversary patch. We were very happy when CCM released the Vintage Collection Throwback Series. Seeing how much money collectors were spending for old Minnesota North Stars and Quebec Nordiques jerseys, CCM smelled blood and knew there was an opportunity to make some cash from the throwback craze, first introduced when the Original Six teams wore Turn Back the Clock jerseys during the NHL's 75th Anniversary season of 1991-92.

Much better quality than the original, undersized and lightweight (to the point of being see-through) replica jerseys of the 80's, many retired styles were remade with the current-for-the-time 550 Series replica model, which provided the consumer a very high quality replica for the price.

This jersey also features the Edmonton Oliers 10th Anniversary patch, which is odd since the Oilers were founded in 1972 as one of the original members of the WHA, making 1988-89 the Oilers 16th Anniversary season. This patch was clearly meant to commemorate the anniversary of the Oilers 10 seasons in the NHL following the demise of the WHA in 1979, a league the NHL chooses to pretend never actually existed.

There is also an image of a single Stanley Cup in the patch, but the Oilers had actually won four cups at that point, something most teams would have probably driven home by putting a 4 on the cup or picturing multiple images of the cup, as the Islanders would do 3 seasons later.

Kurri's #17 has been retired by not only the Edmonton Oilers, but also by Jokerit Helsinki and the Finnish National Team. He is currently the General Manager of the the Finnish National Team.

Dasherboard: The Eastern Conference Finals start tonight at 7:30 PM EST on Vs. with the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. The defending Eastern Conference Champion Penguins now have last year's playoff experience to draw upon, and will look to return to the finals for a second year in a row.

The Hurricanes are not lacking in playoff experience either, having won the Stanley Cup as recently as 2006 with players Brind'Amour, Cullen, Staal, Whitney, Cole, LaRose, Kaberle, Wallin, Babchuk and most importantly, Conn Smythe Trophy winner Cam Ward all still on the roster.

It's really going to come down to a matchup between goaltenders in my mind. Can Ward hold off Crosby and Malkin long enough for Staal and Whitney to get the needed goals past Marc-Andre Fleury? The real key to that is the health of Sergei Gonchar, injured during the last round of the playoffs. He did return in time for Game 7, and Pittsburgh's surprising large lead allowed coach Dan Bylsma the opportunity to cut his ice time significantly. The four days off will give him additional time to heal, tipping the scales in our minds to favor the Penguins.