Is it not possible for both Eichel and ROR are at fault to varying degrees? Eichel enters the league as a hot shot rookie, O'Reilly joins via trade with his eyes set at the C. However from the start Eichel is being prepped for the C. I get the sense Eichel has matured over this past year especially and ROR's weak start and Eichel getting an A put ROR on edge. Think about it, about half way through the season Eichel began becoming the defacto C whereas ROR did the majority of the captaincy honors to start. Couple this with the losing and ROR began to get disinterested and by the end was honestly hoping to be traded.
While he isn't his brother, I have no doubt he'd have some similar qualities to Cal. Cal didn't get more NHL time, so he threw a tantrum and got placed in Toronto. ROR fought with Colorado for more money and even accepted an offer sheet after his contract was up. Likely due to Landeskog being given the captaincy to some degree.
Based on his brother's behavior in combination to his own I get the sense the Captaincy means more to him than just the letter. He wants the honor and prestige that goes along with it.
What is different in the Olympics is he already knows he's outclassed by the Toews/Crosby/etc of Canada so he is willing to stand in line. However in the event of a "vacuum" he cannot stand being passed over by a less experienced player. He was in Colorado, and likely here, so he creates an escape so he may attempt it again with St. Louis when Pieterangelo retires eventually.