Anyway, I agree with the sentiment that we needn't turn on Carrier, just because we see Fabbro is a bit more of a well-rounded and capable player. Carrier is still kind of like finding a free $100 bill on the sidewalk though. After he passed through waivers a couple of times, I don't think too many people really thought he was going to be a player for us, let alone one who has played as well overall as he has.
And if it comes to a showdown between them for scarce Cap space next season, while I think it's obvious we should keep Fabbro ahead of Carrier, it doesn't mean I actively WANT to get rid of Carrier. We simply may have no choice. Although if Carrier has a decent agent and he puts up the stats that he did last season, he might want to think about filing for arbitration! 30 pts, +26, high minutes... he could have probably pulled down a huge payday if his contract had been up this summer instead of next.
I could see the Preds factoring that into their utilization next season. It'll be easy to balance pairs playing Josi-McDonagh, Ekholm-Fabbro, and Lauzon-Carrier if things shake out that way. And that could put a dent in Carrier's numbers and icetime correspondingly, which might help us on the contract front.