Jared Bednar said he doesn’t know if Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog can return to elite form when he comes back from his latest knee surgery.

“And am I a little bit concerned? Yeah,” Bednar 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 surgery Landeskog had in October was unrelated to the knee surgery he had on March 21, 2022. Landeskog missed 23 games but came back to help the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup, playing 20 playoff games. He had 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) and led Colorado with a plus-15 rating.

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.