The Jari Kurri trophy is an ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 trophy awarded by the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 SM-liiga

SM-liiga

The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...

 to the best player in the SM-liiga playoffs. The trophy is named after Jari Kurri

Jari Kurri

Jari Pekka Kurri is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey right winger and a five-time Stanley Cup champion. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. He is currently the general manager of Team Finland....

.

In the 2005-06 season, the trophy was awarded to the player voted the best player in the playoffs by the fans by an SMS

Short message service

Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...

 vote. This practice was discontinued after only one season. Starting in 2007, the trophy was awarded to the winner immediately after the final game of the playoffs instead of at the SM-liiga awards ceremony.

To date, Jussi Tarvainen in 2001 is the only player who was awarded the trophy while playing for the team that lost the finals.

Trophy winners:

1993-94: Ari Sulander

Ari Sulander

Ari Sulander, also nicknamed Sulo , is a professional ice hockey goaltender.-Career in Finland:...

 (Jokerit

Jokerit

Jokerit is an ice-hockey team from Helsinki, Finland, playing in the Finnish Elite League, SM-liiga. The team has won 6 league championships...

)

1994-95: Saku Koivu

Saku Koivu

Saku Antero Koivu is a Finnish professional ice hockey player and an alternate captain of the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League . He began his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1995–96 after three seasons with TPS of the Finnish SM-liiga...

 (TPS

TPS (ice hockey)

TPS or Turun Palloseura is an ice hockey team and 11-time champion of SM-liiga. They play in Turku, Finland at the HK Arena. In terms of championships, TPS is the most successful team in SM-liiga history.-Team history:...

)

1995-96: Petri Varis

Petri Varis

Petri Varis is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey forward. He was drafted by the San Jose Sharks as their 7th-round pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.-Playing career:...

 (Jokerit)

1996-97: Otakar Janecký

Otakar Janecký

Otakar Janecký is a retired Czech ice hockey forward.In his homeland Janecký represented HC Pardubice, his birthcity team for his entire Czechoslovak Extraliga and Czech Extraliga career....

 (Jokerit)

1997-98: Olli Jokinen

Olli Jokinen

Olli Jokinen is a Finnish professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League . He was initially drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1997, third overall after Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. He was the captain of the Florida Panthers from 2003...

 (HIFK

HIFK (ice hockey)

HIFK is an ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall. It was founded in 1897...

)

1998-99: Miikka Kiprusoff

Miikka Kiprusoff

Miikka Sakari Kiprusoff is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League . He was selected in the fifth round, 116th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He has also played for TPS of the Finnish SM-liiga...

 (TPS)

1999-00: Tomi Kallio

Tomi Kallio

Tomi Kristian Kallio is a professional Finnish ice hockey player who plays right wing for Växjö Lakers Hockey in the Swedish Elitserien.-Playing career:...

 (TPS)

2000-01: Jussi Tarvainen (Tappara

Tappara

Tappara is an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga. They play in Tampere, Finland at Tampereen jäähalli. The team have won 15 league championships ....

)

2001-02: Kari Lehtonen

Kari Lehtonen

Kari Lehtonen is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League...

 (Jokerit)

2002-03: Esa Pirnes

Esa Pirnes

Esa Pirnes is a Finnish professional ice hockey centre.- Draft :He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft in the 6th round as the 174th pick overall.-Playing career:...

 (Tappara)

2003-04: Niklas Bäckström

Niklas Bäckström

Niklas Oskar Bäckström is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League . He has won both William M. Jennings Trophy and Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award...

 (Kärpät

Kärpät

Oulun Kärpät is an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga based in Oulu, Finland. Their logo features a stoat ; "kärpät" is Finnish for stoats or ermines. The team has won five league championships .-History:...

)

2004-05: Niklas Bäckström

Niklas Bäckström

Niklas Oskar Bäckström is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League . He has won both William M. Jennings Trophy and Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award...

 (Kärpät)

2005-06: Miika Wiikman

Miika Wiikman

Miika Wiikman is a Swedish-born Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for Ilves of the Finnish SM-Liiga.-Playing career:...

 (HPK

HPK

HPK is an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga. They play in Hämeenlinna, Finland at the Hämeenlinnan jäähalli. HPK was established in 1929. The full name of the club is HPK-Edustusjääkiekko Ry and the team is sometimes promoted as the "Hockey Playing Knights", with the logo representing a knight...

) (SMS

SMS

SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...

 vote)

2006-07: Janne Pesonen

Janne Pesonen

Janne Pesonen is a Finnish professional ice hockey winger currently an unrestricted free agent .- Career :...

 (Kärpät)

2007-08: Tuomas Tarkki

Tuomas Tarkki

Tuomas Tarkki is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender, currently playing for HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the Kontinental Hockey League....

 (Kärpät)

2008-09: Pekka Tuokkola

Pekka Tuokkola

Pekka Tuokkola is a Finnish ice hockey goalkeeper. He currently plays for JYP in the SM-liiga.-References:...

 (JYP) and Sinuhe Wallinheimo

Sinuhe Wallinheimo

Mika Sinuhe Wallinheimo is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. As the last team he represented JYP in the SM-liiga...

 (JYP)

2009-10: Ilari Filppula

Ilari Filppula

Ilari Filppula is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the SM-liiga team Jokerit. He is the older brother of Valtteri Filppula of the Detroit Red Wings.-Playing career:...

 (TPS)

2010-11: Toni Söderholm

Toni Söderholm

Toni Kristian Söderholm is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman, currently playing for HIFK in the SM-liiga.-Regular season and playoffs:-International:-External links:...

(HIFK)