Hockey Jokerit is a matter of the heart for Jari Kurr, but the chest has been squeezing in recent years

Jari Kurri says he last visited Helsinki Hall the day before the interview, on Thursday. The arena, which has been home to jokers for 25 years, is like a whale drifting off the beach, stripped of its sponsor name and events.

“I went to the booths. It’s quiet there. It’s a shame, ”says Kurri.

Kurri is a man of short sentences. He is the principal owner of the Jokers and served as the team’s general manager throughout its eight-year KHL era.

What was left of it?

Kurri laughs first, but it’s Pajatso’s unhappy laughter.

“The last three years have been really grueling,” Kurri begins, and times how the corona pandemic broke the season two years ago and forced the Jokers to play their playoffs abroad a year ago.

Last the years were also difficult for the reasons why the Jokers finally left KHL this spring. The ownership and funding of the Jokers and its home hall were in the hands of the Russians, which became a greater burden on the public the farther Vladimir Putin Russia distanced itself from the rest of the world.

When Russia invaded Ukraine more than two months ago, the Jokers left the KHL and Kurri the Eastern League.

Kurri has been a public figure since 1978, when he decided to win Finland’s first hockey championship, the European Championships for under-18s.

But lately, he has received harsher public criticism than ever before for receiving Russian funding and playing in Belarus.

“Of course, outside things have affected our club’s reputation and performance,” Kurri admits.

Kurri does not want to comment on the criticism he has received in public, but wants to return to the matter on his own initiative later in the interview.

“It must be remembered that we operate under Finnish law in all respects. If someone claims something else, it is wrong, ”says Kurri.

And what does Kurri think at KHL about the Finnish hockey players who continued after the start of the Russian war?

“If you have a contract and you suddenly leave, it will result in sanctions, and it will affect whether there is a contract left for a long time to come. The players assigned to the unfortunate situation have got into it, ”says Kurri.

Jokers the wish is to return to the domestic League for the period 2023–2024.

“We work hard to build trust and build league eligibility. We would love to see ourselves in the League in the season 23–24 and participate in the development of Finnish hockey. We have a strong junior activity, the league would also give light to our juniors, ”says Kurri.

If the Jokers return to the League, where will it play their home game?

“I want to be terribly optimistic and I hope that in Helsinki Hall. It is hoped that a solution will be found. Yes, a solution must be found for this. It is not only from the point of view of the Jokers but of the whole city that it is absurd that the house is not in use. ”

Kurri, 61, started playing hockey at the Jokers when he was 9 years old. What does the club mean to him?

Kurri laughs again, but differently than at the beginning of the interview.

“I left at the age of 9 and after a skating test I was selected to the team. It was a great time to get into the joker family. I got to grow a joker shirt on top. It’s a matter of the heart for me. This is not Jari Kurr’s thing, but this is the Joker’s thing, it’s the logo on his chest. ”