The Vegas Golden Knights focus on the now, not the future or past. That's what Jack Eichel wants despite questions about the team's loyalty.

Less than two weeks after Jonathan Marchessault said there’s no loyalty in Sin City, the Vegas Golden Knights are assessing their next steps after goaltender Robin Lehner won't report to the club this year.

Lehner reportedly did not attend training camp for a mandatory pre-season medical exam required to confirm his ineligibility to play, according to the Associated Press and Daily Faceoff. The Golden Knights, NHL and NHLPA are looking at what's next for what GM Kelly McCrimmon described as unique situation. Contract termination was reported to be a potential option.

For some, even the speculation of cutting ties with Lehner, who was expected to miss his third straight season after undergoing hip surgery in April 2022, is yet another example of why free agents may want to avoid signing with the Golden Knights.

But for Jack Eichel, who spent the first six years of his career with the constantly rebuilding Buffalo Sabres before winning a Stanley Cup in just his second season in Vegas, nothing could be further from the truth.

“I think that’s the place you want to be,” Eichel said during last week’s NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour. “I kind of went from one polar opposite to the other. It was almost like in Buffalo for a couple of years that we were always working toward the future. It was never really about right now.”

Eichel said he understood the Sabres' situation.

“It was about getting draft picks and developing them and working towards what are we going to be like in a year, or two years or whatever from now,” he said. “But at the same time, when you’re in that situation and you’re the player representing the team on the ice, you want to be competitive now.

“To be able to play in a place where the goal and standard is to be the last team, it’s the best. It’s what you want as a player.”

Being the best, as Marchessault suggested in a recent appearance on the Cam & Strick Podcast, comes at a cost.

"There's definitely no loyalty, but at the same time, you're there to win. I don't mind that mindset, personally," said Marchessault, who signed with the Nashville Predators this summer. "Obviously, I'm disappointed that I left. I didn't have any real things to consider, and that's what disappointed me. I thought I had done good enough in the past seven years for them that I could deserve what I deserved.”

It’s not just Marchessault who Vegas has cut ties with.

The Golden Knights are already on their third coach in eight years. Of their original roster that was constructed out of the 2017 expansion draft, only William Karlsson, Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb and Zach Whitecloud remain.

Instead, the Golden Knights make big moves and deal with salary cap ramifications later. While Eichel and captain Mark Stone have been some of those additions over the years, recent acquisitions include defenseman Noah Hanifin and center Tomas Hertl.

When asked about Marchessault, who spent seven seasons as an original Golden Misfit before leaving as a free agent, Eichel was pragmatic.

“It’s a results-driven league,” he said. “We all know that. If you don’t win, you get replaced. If you don’t produce, you get replaced. If you’re not performing and you’re not getting results, they usually go find someone who will.”

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