Jari Kurri

Wayne Gretzky and Bernie Nicholls wanted contract offers from the Mighty Ducks and couldn't get them. But the Ducks finally made their first bold move of the summer Wednesday, agreeing to a one-year deal with another former King, Jari Kurri, that will pay him $1.5 million next season and includes a club option for the 1997-98 season. Kurri will be the first sure-fire Hall of Famer to wear a Duck jersey, although he is coming off the least productive season of his career at 36.

Wayne Gretzky and Bernie Nicholls wanted contract offers from the Mighty Ducks and couldn't get them. But the Ducks finally made their first bold move of the summer Wednesday, agreeing to a one-year deal with another former King, Jari Kurri, that will pay him $1.5 million next season and includes a club option for the 1997-98 season. Kurri, 36, will be the first sure-fire future Hall of Famer to wear a Duck jersey, although he is coming off his least productive season.

Mark Messier is a hockey center by trade, and being one, he thought he knew who can play the position and who cannot. His best friend, Wayne Gretzky, redefined the position. Which was why Messier started laughing when Jari Kurri skated out to take the opening faceoff against him during the King-Ranger exhibition at Phoenix. The Kings, from the bench, saw Messier laughing and talking to Kurri. King Coach Barry Melrose asked Kurri what Messier had said to him. Kurri answered reluctantly.

Right wing Jari Kurri, one of the few Kings who did not have a disappointing showing last season, agreed to a new contract Thursday and will receive a sizable raise. It is two-year deal, the second year an option year. Figures were not disclosed, but the contract is in the neighborhood of $4 million. It is said to be similar to the one signed last week by Washington's Joe Juneau, who has a four-year deal worth $8.2 million. Kurri, 34, made $1 million last season.

Wayne Gretzky has broken so many records, the only ones left to break are his own. The Edmonton Oilers center, the most dominant athlete in any sport, set a record for points in a season Friday night at Calgary, Canada. Gretzky assisted on two Jari Kurri goals before the middle of the second period to reach 213 points for the season. He had 212 during the 1981-82 season. But most of the game, the Flames dominated, and they skated to an easy 9-3 victory. Kurri leads the league with 67 goals.

The Kings got a little healthier Saturday, as forwards Pavol Demitra and Eric Belanger returned to the lineup. Demitra sat out 10 games because of nerve damage in his right leg. Belanger sat out 13 games because of a partially torn groin. Their return was tempered when defenseman Tim Gleason did not play because of a left knee injury that the Kings said was a bruise. Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky sat out much of the first period after an injury to his right knee.

The swift, bloodless dismemberment of the Kings' Wayne Gretzky era continued on Thursday with the departure of defenseman Marty McSorley and forwards Jari Kurri and Shane Churla to the New York Rangers in exchange for four players and one draft pick. It had been widely expected that Gretzky's close friends, Kurri and McSorley--who were also with him in Edmonton--would soon follow the path out of Los Angeles after he was traded to St. Louis a little more than two weeks ago.

King forward Jari Kurri will return today to his native Finland and plans to play alongside his friend, the Winnipeg Jets' Teemu Selanne, by the end of this week in Helsinki. Kurri, 34, was the Kings' third-leading scorer last season with 31 goals and 77 points. Previously, he ruled out a return to Finland, but has grown pessimistic during the NHL's lockout. "I was hoping we could get things going," Kurri said Saturday. "But I feel I need to keep playing at this stage of my career.

He's a hero in Finland, a legend in Edmonton and L.A., but Jari Kurri is feeling out of sorts here in suburbia. Kurri once roamed the ice with Wayne Gretzky, tormenting opposing defensemen and goaltenders. Now he's teamed on a line with Garry Valk and Alex Hicks. Once it was considered a no-brainer that Kurri and his teammates would contend for the Stanley Cup each spring. At the very least his teams figured to be a factor in the playoffs.

It took three years of waiting, a season in Italy, months of haggling and hours of sweating, but Jari Kurri finally has his wish: a reunion with Wayne Gretzky. And Bruce McNall hopes he finally has his Stanley Cup. In a blockbuster three-team, nine-player trade involving Steve Duchesne and Steve Kasper, Kurri became a King Thursday after McNall signed him to a four-year (three and an option), $3.75-million contract. But the cost was high.