Whatever Happened to ex-Oilers' Jujhar Khaira?

Every once in a while, I come across an old hockey name and think, whatever happened to that guy? Jujhar Khaira is one of those players.

If you followed the Edmonton Oilers for any length of time, you probably remember him. He was a big, physical left winger who wasn't going to score 30 goals, but you knew what you were getting. He'd go into the corners, battle for pucks, throw his weight around and generally make life a little uncomfortable for the other team.

The Oilers developed Khaira, and he played well with them.

Edmonton drafted him in the third round in 2012, 63rd overall, and he eventually worked his way into the NHL. He also spent time with Chicago and Minnesota. None of it was particularly glamorous, but Khaira put together a respectable NHL career.

He played 337 NHL games and scored 80 points. That's not the kind of number that gets anybody elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. But that's not really what Khaira was about. He was one of those players coaches could use when they needed somebody to do some of the less glamorous work.

And there are a lot of those players in hockey. They just tend to disappear from our radar when they're no longer playing regularly in the NHL. That's pretty much what happened to Khaira.

Khaira found his way to the AHL and has made his career there.

By 2024-25, he was playing with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL. He appeared in 18 games and had nine points. Then, in March 2025, Syracuse sent him to Abbotsford for future considerations. And suddenly, Khaira was back in the Canucks organization.

Abbotsford signed him to a one-year AHL contract in October 2025. At 6-foot-5 and about 214 pounds, he brings something pretty obvious to a younger AHL lineup: experience. That's probably the most interesting part of Khaira's story now. He's not really chasing the next big NHL contract anymore. He's trying to stay useful. And there's something to be said for that.

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A professional hockey career doesn’t have to be at the NHL level.

A veteran who has played more than 300 NHL games can teach young players things that don't necessarily show up on a stat sheet. How do you handle a bad stretch? What does an NHL game actually feel like when you're exhausted? How do you prepare when you're not playing every night? What does it take to stay in the league?

Those are things a young player can't learn from a video session. Khaira also brings the kind of game that can become particularly useful in the AHL playoffs. Big, physical forwards who aren't afraid to get involved tend to become more valuable when the games get tighter and harder.

So whatever happened to Jujhar Khaira?

He didn't disappear. He just moved into that strange part of a hockey career where you stop hearing about a player every week, even though he's still doing the same thing he's always done — finding a way to stay in the game.

And maybe that's a pretty good hockey career in itself. Not every player gets to be a star. Some guys just keep finding a way to be useful. And, while there’s no word on a contract yet for the 2026-27 season, don’t be surprised if Khaira finds a landing spot.

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