You are correct, I am not watching him. That's why from afar it seems so bizarre to say he'll never be elite again.
But down years can be a thing with anyone. I'm not justifying it, just saying that a high salary doesn't mean it's impossible to go through a bad stretch. I doubt he forgot to how to play hockey. If not an injury it's got to be mental, or some strange thing like the Cody Hodgson situation.