Blackhawks’ Jujhar Khaira likely out for season after back surgery

Jujhar Khaira’s interruption-laden season has likely met a premature end.

Khaira underwent lower-back surgery Tuesday at Northwestern Hospital, the Blackhawks announced Wednesday.

He’s expected to be “out of hockey activities” for 10-12 weeks. With just over nine weeks left in the 2021-22 NHL regular season, this likely concludes his first year with the Hawks.

It certainly hasn’t been the season the 27-year-old forward imagined when he signed a two-year contract with the Hawks in free agency last summer.

He suffered a concussion during a scary collision with Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba on Dec. 7 that sidelined him for nearly a month, then played just nine more games before his back injury sprang up Jan. 18. He underwent testing the past few weeks before ultimately deciding on this course of action.

“You’re just trying to fight it off, [hoping] there’s something where [the diagnosis is], ‘He’s going to be ok, he’ll be back in a week,'” interim coach Derek King said Wednesday. “But as you prolong it, he gets a second and third opinion to make sure, and then this is what they came up with. It’s too bad.”

Khaira will presumably finish the season with three goals and zero assists in 27 games, averaging 13:36 of ice time. He did dish out 88 hits (averaging 3.3 per game), providing an even more physical presence that he did earlier in his career in Edmonton.

“It’s obviously not the year he wanted,” King added. “We’re a much better team with him in the lineup, the way he plays. But sometimes these things happen and you’ve got to deal with them. He’ll deal with it the right way, and we’ll get him ready for next year.”

Other updates

The Hawks currently plan to start Marc-Andre Fleury in goal Friday against the Devils before Kevin Lankinen makes his return Sunday against the Blues.

Jake McCabe (back soreness) is likely to play Friday despite missing both practices so far this week. Tyler Johnson, despite practicing for weeks while recovering from his disc-replacement surgery, is less likely to return this weekend.