Maybe it’s been stated but I don’t and cannot accept that as the gospel truth.
At the NHL level the most famous example close to panthers is none other than Barkov. He trained with a top Finnish past figure skater and current coach (a female in her 40s/50s at the time). When he came back the difference was obvious. Anyone could see it. He was lighter on his feet, faster on his acceleration, better on his corners and pivots.
There are also adult skaters at the beer league level (I’d say up to C league level) who never skated before, started in their 30s even, and a couple of years later could play and skate with guys in C league who’ve done it since kids. So obviously this proves that adults CAN learn difficult and critical skills like skating later in life. I don’t think it’s a stretch to claim from this that an adult in his or her 20s can noticeably improve their skating and even if the level is already high, like Barkov’s.
Ek just doesn’t put in the effort, he seems to think (based on lack of improvement) that he’s good enough. Well guess what? His lack of training earlier and now will cost him $2-3-4M/year on his next contract. Might be $10-20M total less because of being lazy or dumb or both.
I think it's a rather large stretch. there are other explanations that seem more plausible to me. the fact that he's been recovering from serious injury the past several summers is one. I don't see why we have to get angry with the guy and call him lazy or dumb.
I was not suggesting that one cannot improve their skating. Barkov is an elite skater already and certainly easy to imagine tidying up little aspects of his technique.
and of course people can learn to skate later in life. that's a different scenario.
my point was simply that it may not be as easy for a guy who's been skating the same way and playing an elite game overall since he was a kid to change his stride. it isn't exactly one little tweak - his posture and stride would probably need to be overhauled.
anyway, I don't care to debate this any more. was just trying to add some information to the discussion. if I can dig up the link, I'll post it. maybe that'll change some minds.