I don't think so.
I think he should have to continuously earn it. I don't care about a fantastic preseason if on November 15-22, he stops fore and backchecking. It needs to be an everyday evaluation. I mean, when you are in school and get your grades, you can't get an A on your midterm and then just completely cruise through the rest of the class doing absolutely nothing and still get the A you want.
I mean, damn it, BABCOCK AND BLASH PRAISED HIM EVERY TIME. They speak glowingly about what he can do when he competes. They say/said all the time how special he is when he's engaged. The coaches don't hate AA. They're not benching him because of some perceived slight. They bench him or ratchet back his minutes because he gets away from doing the things that make him a successful NHL player. If a guy who I know is one of the fastest in the league just gives up on a backcheck, I'd bench his ass for a shift or two as well.
It has nothing to do with Blash misusing him. You could maybe question how Blash is communicating why he's being benched, but the thought process? It's entirely reasonable.
Basically, he's earned the right to be utilized in the top 6 or as the 3C with PP time to start the year. What he does in the first week determines if he retains that right in the 2nd and then in the 3rd and so on. It isn't "he showed when he got a lot of minutes he could do something, so he always should get a lot of minutes". It should be constantly re-evaluated. And it should be for everyone. If Larkin stops driving the play, he should get demoted for a bit and someone should get his minutes. If Abby stops doing Abby things, he should get demoted.
2C...
On no planet is Frans Nielsen better suited for the 2nd line then AA. AA and Vanek are penciled on on the 2nd line to start, and should be given more even strength minutes and certainly more PP minutes then the Nielsen line. It'll be interesting to see who starts with AA and Vanek.
Oh and lol to your Abby comment. Abby can do no wrong in Blash's books and has never been demoted. Blash has a group of players that are never held accountable, usually vets. Nyquist was terrible all year, yet was on line 1 the entire year. The bottom line is that Blashill obviously favours vets, and loves to make the kids "earn" their ice time. I cannot wait for someone else to be in charge. Blash should have been let go a year and a half ago, yet here we are entering a new year with the same old stale coach in charge.