"'Kurvy' and I were best friends, inseparable," Chelios said Monday from his home in Chicago.
Kurvers, the assistant general manager of the Minnesota Wild who played 11 NHL seasons, was 58.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2019.
RELATED: [Kurvers dies at 58, was Wild assistant general manager]
Chelios, who is 59, was born eight months before Kurvers. Their U.S. collegiate careers would overlap in 1982-83, Chelios playing for the University of Wisconsin, Kurvers for the University of Minnesota Duluth.
They each tried out for the United States team for the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics, though only Chelios was chosen for the roster. They were each selected in the 1981 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, Chelios in the second round (No. 40), Kurvers in the seventh round (No. 145).
If Chelios was by far the more famous defenseman during his career, Kurvers was in some ways his kindred spirit upon their arrival in Montreal.
It was with the Canadiens, Chelios said Monday, where they truly bonded, their names engraved on the Stanley Cup for Montreal's 1986 championship. Kurvers didn't play a game in the postseason after he played 62 in the regular season but still was a valuable member of the talented team.
"We'd got to know each other in college," said Chelios, who today is an ambassador for the Chicago Blackhawks. "Kurvy was a great college defenseman over in Duluth. I really respected playing against him. He easily could have made the Sarajevo Olympic team, it was just a numbers thing that it didn't happen. We were drafted together and ended up really connecting in Montreal."
Chelios recalls the two enjoying fine rookie seasons with the 1984-85 Canadiens. Chelios scored 64 points (nine goals, 55 assists); Kurvers scored 45 points (10 goals, 35 assists).
"We had a great year together. They were kind of selling us as the next Guy Lapointe and Serge Savard," Chelios said with a laugh about being compared to two legendary Canadiens defensemen from the team's 1970s dynasty.
It wasn't long before Chelios and Kurvers had forged their bond off the ice too.
"Kurvy and myself shared a place across the street from the Montreal Forum our rookie year," Chelios recalled. "The next year Kurvy, me and Dave Maley moved together to a place on Nun's Island (south of downtown).
"Then they were traded back-to-back (Kurvers to the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 18, 1986, Maley to the New Jersey Devils on June 13, 1987). It's always terrible to lose a teammate, especially your roommate, in a trade. It was devastating.
"Kurvy and I got along great, we never argued. Even as partners on defense we never had any disagreements. It was just a great relationship. He was one of my favorite people."
