Edmonton, AB (Best E Casino) - Edmonton Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, the team announced Tuesday.

Souray was placed on injured reserve on January 30 and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his ailing left shoulder last Friday.

"It's been a challenging season definitely in a lot of ways," said Souray. "I have to live with this injury every day, so I knew what I was feeling and what I was going through. It's not an ideal situation for anyone, especially under the circumstances I came in here under, you know, how I injured it and stuff like that. It's one of those things that needed to be fixed, and sooner rather than later so this doesn't carry on to next year. That was the only thing I was thinking of when I went to get it done."

Souray has not played since January 24, when he aggravated an existing shoulder problem in Edmonton's 4-3 overtime victory against the Florida Panthers.

The original injury was a separated left shoulder caused by a fight with Vancouver's Byron Ritchie on October 13. That setback cost Souray nearly two months of the season.

A native of Elk Point, Alberta, Souray enjoyed a career year last season for the Montreal Canadiens after scoring 26 goals and picking up 38 assists. Nineteen of his tallies came on the power play, setting a new NHL record for power-play goals by a defenseman.

The Oilers signed the 31-year-old blueliner to a lucrative five-year deal in the off-season, but he ends the campaign having posted only three goals and 10 points in 26 games.