I had questioned why Kovacevic had been traded last year. I assumed at the time that it meant they thought Mailloux was ready, though to me that still left a hole that meant Guhle would still be unable to play on his natural side at LD.
I cant help but think this trade is to put a veteran presence back in there to make up for that mistake.
That being said, Carrier is getting 3rd most minutes in Nashville. He is much smaller than Kovacevic but evidently more mobile and good on his first pass. -14 seems really bad but Nashville is doing bad enough that i dont know how take that stat. Barron certainly doesnt inspire confidence, and he surely doesnt represent the future for hte habs.
I think habs will be more happy with Carrier than Nash with Barron. Kevin Raphael released something that has Carrier talk about how much he'd like to play for Montreal, but it hadn't been aired at hte time, presumably because of the conflict of interest in playing for a rival and saying that. I hope that means he will get a boost of motivation.