"And am I a little bit concerned? Yeah," the Avalanche coach said Wednesday. "I mean, he hasn't played all year. Do I think that he can easily come out of this and be fine? Yeah, I mean, he's putting in the work. So, only time will tell. You just don't know."
Bednar said the procedure Landeskog had in October was unrelated to the knee surgery he had on March 21, 2022, and was less severe in nature. Landeskog missed 23 games but came back to help Colorado win the Stanley Cup, playing 20 playoff games. He had 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) and led Colorado with a plus-15 rating.
"First off, Landeskog had surgery at the bubble [in 2020] on his quad. And then he had knee surgery going into the playoffs [in 2022]," Bednar said Friday. "He did have a procedure [this season], but it wasn't a major surgery. He had surgery on that quad, and then last year, obviously, when he missed the time in the spring before we went into the playoffs. But this year, he had discomfort coming back in training. It was bothering, hampering him."
The decision to have the surgery last March was so Landeskog could perform at his best in the playoffs. He played an NHL career-low 51 regular-season games. The 30-year-old, who is Avalanche captain, was frequently absent from morning skates during the playoffs in an effort to manage his recovery.
"Yeah, it was just bothering him though, so he got it fixed," Bednar said. "Yeah, good timing to get it fixed. He didn't want it bothering him through playoffs. So when he had that surgery, he was like, 'I can fix this.'"
There is still no timetable for Landeskog's return this season for Colorado, which is trying to repeat as Cup champs. He has missed all 63 games this season.
"He's been through a lot of different things this year, obviously missing the year," Bednar said, "and rehab is really the only thing he's doing for it at this point, right?"
Landeskog returned to Denver in mid-February and has been skating since. He was on the ice for 50 minutes Wednesday prior to an Avalanche optional practice. He didn't skate Friday.
Landeskog has 571 points (248 goals, 323 assists) in 738 NHL regular-season games, and 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists) in 69 playoff games.
The Avalanche (35-22-6) are third in the Central Division, five points behind the second-place Minnesota Wild.
NHL.com independent correspondent Ryan Boulding contributed to this report
