Shoulder surgery to end season for Hawks' Havlat

Blackhawks winger Martin Havlat's season is over early for the second year in a row.

Hawks coach Denis Savard said Wednesday that Havlat would undergo left shoulder surgery today in Cleveland to repair the dislocation he first suffered on opening night in Minnesota then re-injured on Feb. 27 against Phoenix.

It will be the third shoulder surgery for Havlat, whose rehab is expected to take four months. He also had surgery late last season.

The Hawks hope this latest surgery will at last keep Havlat's shoulder in place through the NHL grind.

"I'm not a doctor," Savard said. "But it's like a golf ball on a tee and the tee is broken."

Havlat finished with 10 goals and 17 assists in 27 games. By the time this season ends, Havlat will have missed 73 of a possible 164 games with injuries since being acquired by the Hawks in a trade with Ottawa.

In those 91 games he played, Havlat racked up 84 points on 35 goals and 49 assists.

"He's a big-time player and he's able to take over some games, but he hasn't been really healthy," Savard said. "It's not fair to say even the games he was in he played well. He played well at times, and at times he wasn't really effective. Once he gets really healthy we'll be able to tell what he is, really."

Havlat, 26, has next season remaining on the three-year, $18 million contract he signed after being acquired by the Hawks. He would be an unrestricted free agent after next season.