NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft: Zdeno Chara's Best and Worst Moves

Upon winning the “faceoff” dropped by TSN’s James Duthie, Boston Bruin and visiting NHL All-Star captain Zdeno Chara was under pressure to make plays with the puck Thursday night.

Having a perpetual upper hand over counterpart Daniel Alfredsson in each ensuing round of the fantasy draft, Chara could not afford to let the missed opportunities outnumber those he converted.

As one ought to have expected, the perfect roster for Sunday’s game did not quite materialize in Thursday’s selection derby. But, on the whole, Chara and assistant captain Joffrey Lupul pounced on the radiant chances early and, when a drawback worked in Alfredsson’s favor, made good on on-the-spot backup plans.

At the very worst, Team Chara’s drafting performance report bears a 2:1 ratio of pluses to minuses. In chronological order by round—pick and non-pick—here are the highlights of the six pluses and three minuses.

Plus: Pavel Datsyuk

In what will likely be an offensive-minded affair, it will be advantageous to have the best available faceoff man and one of the top playmakers.

Team Chara’s decision to make Datsyuk the first overall choice perfectly reflected the impact he will likely have on the game and the matchup.

Plus: Evgeni Malkin

Arguably the NHL's hottest performer leading up to the All-Star break, Malkin will only be serving his best interest by not letting far off the accelerator in the only game of the weekend.

In turn, he will be serving the interest of his team.

Minus: Carey Price

This minus is not so much a knock on Price’s ability, but rather a blatant missed opportunity that immediately burned Team Chara when Team Alfredsson seized the opportunity to claim Brian Elliott in the same round.

The St. Louis sensation should have been the most coveted stopper in the draft pool given his superior overall statistics and peerless sharpness in first periods.

There is not much reason to nitpick about. Chara used his second pick to claim teammate and three-time All-Star victor, Tim Thomas. But he should have next swooped in on Elliott after Alfredsson chose Jonathan Quick in the third round.

Plus: Waiting On Jimmy Howard

Once Elliott was claimed, that inevitably meant Howard was Chara-bound and would have to be formally selected by the conclusion of the tenth round.

With a maximum limit of two picks in the interim, though, Chara and Lupul prudently focused on building up in other positions and reducing the available number of skaters.

Plus: Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf

Originally, this author deemed it a minus when Chara allowed Alfredsson to reel in all of his fellow Senators rather than deny the home captain an easy chemistry formula.

But upon further review, picking his former teammate and Lupul’s current colleague, Kessel, and adding the other Toronto Maple Leaf in Phaneuf could pay dividends when facing a Senator-laden squad at Scotiabank Place.

Judging especially by Lupul’s handling of the local crowd’s catcalls, having each representative of Ottawa’s provincial rival on their side may light a productive fire under Team Chara.

Had they mixed in a current Ottawa player, the visitors may have inadvertently tossed a flame retardant into that fire. Instead, this matchup will have an unadulterated Leafs-Sens sidebar to it, and Team Chara can embrace the enemy role all the more.

Minus: Missing Out On Shea Weber

This one gets more of a pass since Lupul had already filled one of the defensive slots with former teammate Kimmo Timonen. The two player/GMs also made reasonable amends with the likes of Brian Campbell, who should be a valuable point-based producer.

Still, allying Weber with Chara, a fellow certified-Norris Trophy candidate, would have meant sound defensive depth and maybe a slight edge in an otherwise offensive contest.

Plus: Jarome Iginla

Upon declaring this pick in Round No. 14, Chara made the crisp assessment that there are “not many guys in the league with 500 goals.”

The longtime Calgary captain will inject valuable, and hardly stale, seasoning into the visiting bench.

Minus: Letting Scott Hartnell Get Away

Hartnell is the shooting percentage leader among 2012 All-Stars and a former teammate of Lupul’s in Philadelphia. In addition, the prospect of staring down his Atlantic Division rival, Henrik Lundqvist, would have likely instilled some useful motivation.

Team Chara easily could have claimed Hartnell in an earlier round, maybe in the sixth round when they went with the comparably sizeable Corey Perry.

Instead, they let him hover around and eventually fall under Alfredsson’s rights in Round No. 17.

Plus: Tyler Seguin

To stress Seguin’s familiarity with Team Chara’s captain and coaching staff is to state the obvious and not offer the full scope of his value.

With his next birthday falling two days after the All-Star festivities conclude, Seguin will be the only under-20 participant in this game, which ought to mean bountiful energy on his part.

Having him in the company of the 21-year-old Jordan Eberle, whom Chara and Lupul selected one round prior, is virtually a steal in that regard.