He Is Gretzky’s Silent Partner : King Defenseman Kurri Quietly Has Risen to 10th in Career Goals

Waiting for Wayne Gretzky has turned into a full-time job when the Kings’ traveling road show journeys through NHL arenas in the United States and Canada.

Recently, Jari Kurri took a peek into the locker room at the crush of notepads and mini-cams and decided to make an entrance, playing Gretzky for a moment. Kurri opened the door and sort of hopped in, as if to say, “Well, here I am.”

Kurri stood there only long enough to sense the split-second disappointment, smiled and then laughed to himself and closed the door. He knew the media were not waiting for him, which is exactly the way Kurri wants it.

Actually, that isn’t entirely true all the time. When a cadre of Finnish journalists show up in some outpost--”The guys with the funny hair,” Coach Barry Melrose calls them--Kurri knows they are around to ask one of two things:

--How is Wayne Gretzky?

--What is going on with Teemu Selanne?

His closeness to Gretzky and Selanne often means that Kurri’s accomplishments don’t always receive proper appreciation.

Gretzky’s race toward Gordie Howe’s record of 801 goals has been widely chronicled. There will soon be a growing entourage, and when Gretzky finally breaks it, King owner Bruce McNall will probably give him something befitting the occasion, like, say, a shiny Rolls-Royce.

Kurri, meanwhile, took sole possession of the 10th spot among the all-time NHL goal scorers with his 545th on Feb. 2, surpassing Maurice (Rocket) Richard. He already had passed Stan Mikita, Frank Mahovlich and Michel Goulet. Now he needs six goals to tie John Bucyk in ninth place at 556.

But after Kurri moved past Richard, there was no celebration, especially since the struggling Kings lost that game in Edmonton. The historic moment was almost forgotten amid the futility.

“It’s not just (beating) one guy,” Kurri said. “It’s to be up there in that group of guys that feels good. That means something. . . . If it weren’t for (Gretzky), I wouldn’t be anywhere near these numbers. He’s been the biggest part of my success.”

In perhaps the twilight of his NHL career, the 33-year-old Kurri has been playing his stellar yet reliable brand of two-way hockey. Once, Gretzky and Kurri led the Oilers to Stanley Cups. Now, they’re trying to keep the Kings from slipping into the abyss, out of playoff contention. Kurri, who has 26 goals and 63 points this season, is on the power play, kills penalties with Gretzky and takes almost every critical faceoff.

Imagine where the Kings would be if Gretzky and Kurri weren’t playing well. Gretzky always has had an acute sense of Kurri’s presence and vice versa, but the two players have been reading each other’s patterns with uncanny accuracy lately.

Melrose was asked whether Gretzky and Kurri can read one another’s mind.

“It sounds like a Star Trek episode,” Melrose said. “There was one episode where Jim and Spock shared the same brain and Jim had to lead Spock around.”

Actually, Kurri and Gretzky seem to take turns leading the way on the ice. They haven’t changed, and remain quick to give one another credit. “He’s been the best two-way player in the game,” Gretzky said.

Gretzky’s words have been echoed by Melrose, who has been conducting a campaign for Kurri, nominating him for the Selke Trophy, given to the league’s top defensive forward.

“A lot of it is a players’ reputation,” Melrose said. “(Bob) Gainey and (Doug) Jarvis won it all those years. And (Guy) Carbonneau. Jari had 87 points last year and played against every top center.

“(Sergei) Fedorov is a lot like Jari--maybe he’s the closest thing to Jari. He plays a defensive centerman’s role.”

All this, of course, doesn’t mean Melrose really understands Kurri.

“He’s a funny man,” Melrose said, “the way he carries himself. He’s a genius on the ice. He forces men to make mistakes. He and Gretz go good together because they out-think the opponent.

“Jari doesn’t talk to anybody. He doesn’t even talk to Gretz.”

But it’s not as though Kurri is mute. He speaks. But not in meetings. “I shouldn’t talk to the coach,” Kurri said. “I talk if I have something to say.”

He has something to say about his tennis matches in Finland against Selanne last summer. Kurri is a tenacious baseliner, no surprise.

“I think very early in the season, he was winning,” Kurri said. “By the end of the summer, I’m catching up. He goes on holidays earlier and I played (hockey) until June.”

Kurri smiled. No doubt Selanne was reminded several times about Winnipeg’s early playoff exit, which gave him more time to practice his backhand. Kurri and Selanne often talk after King-Jet games. With both teams struggling, they haven’t had pleasant things to discuss.

Selanne is rehabilitating his injured leg, and Kurri called him the day after he had surgery. Kurri, who lives in Calabasas, has had natural disasters to talk about. The October fires came very close to his home, and the family loaded up the car, poised to evacuate.

Then, on Jan. 17 in Philadelphia, Kurri answered the phone, and it was his wife, Tiina. Tiina and his 8-year-old twin sons, Joonas and Ville, never had to deal with earthquakes in Helsinki.

“She was crying,” Kurri said. “They were all crying. One of the kids (Joonas) was trapped in his bedroom, the door was shut closed. He got it open.

“Now he is sleeping in our room.”

The family--like everyone else in the San Fernando Valley--grew jittery during the aftershocks. Kurri poked a little fun at himself.

“In the summer (of 1991), I came here to sign my contract,” Kurri said. “We were in a hotel. Our first day in L.A., there was an earthquake. I said, ‘Don’t worry. Only one every 10 years.’ ”

No punch line was necessary. Kurri simply shook his head. Life in Finland is looking quite inviting these days. “After this year, I have to make a big decision,” Kurri said. “I have my option year (next season). If I play my option out, I won’t play any more.”

There’s nothing to prove. Kurri has helped to win five Stanley Cups and is the highest-scoring European player in NHL history. As for judging his career, consider the company he has kept: Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and Luc Robitaille, among others.

To punctuate it all, he belongs to an exclusive hockey club where everyone is on a first-name basis--Gordie, Wayne, Guy--and he’s already paid his dues in goals.