The 1996 NHL Draft is often statistically ranked among the weakest, with Chris Phillips going #1 to Ottawa. The first round included Daniel Briere (#24), Derek Morris (#13), and Marco Sturm (#21). While the top end lacked "generational" star power, the draft’s legacy was saved by mid-round gems. Zdeno Chara was taken 56th overall, and Tomas Kaberle was a steal at 204th. Pavel Kubina (179th) also emerged as a top defender. Overall, 1996 was a depth-heavy draft that lacked excitement at the podium but eventually produced the tallest and most physically imposing defenseman to ever play the game.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 1996 NHL entry draft:
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Chris Phillips | D | 1 | Ottawa Senators | $38,753,689 | 271 | $48,218,765 | 243 |
| Andrei Zyuzin | D | 2 | San Jose Sharks | $10,545,000 | 1019 | $14,948,278 | 945 |
| Jean-Pierre Dumont | RW | 3 | New York Islanders | $24,221,000 | 536 | $31,244,252 | 488 |
| Alexandre Volchkov | LW | 4 | Washington Capitals | $875,000 | 3216 | $1,442,955 | 3047 |
| Richard Jackman | D | 5 | Dallas Stars | $2,995,640 | 1968 | $4,258,270 | 1913 |
| Boyd Devereaux | C | 6 | Edmonton Oilers | $10,545,000 | 1019 | $15,328,629 | 931 |
| Erik Rasmussen | C | 7 | Buffalo Sabres | $6,688,250 | 1339 | $9,902,063 | 1226 |
| Johnathan Aitken | D | 8 | Boston Bruins | ||||
| Ruslan Salei | D | 9 | Anaheim Ducks | $22,974,000 | 570 | $30,677,273 | 504 |
| Dan Focht | D | 11 | Phoenix Coyotes | $1,050,000 | 2987 | $1,492,316 | 2996 |
| Josh Holden | C | 12 | Vancouver Canucks | $875,000 | 3216 | $1,388,427 | 3109 |
| Derek Morris | D | 13 | Calgary Flames | $38,591,098 | 276 | $49,646,816 | 234 |
| Marty Reasoner | C | 14 | St. Louis Blues | $12,694,512 | 900 | $16,684,907 | 879 |
| Dainius Zubrus | RW | 15 | Philadelphia Flyers | $36,850,244 | 289 | $46,251,268 | 263 |
| Mario Larocque | D | 16 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||
| Jaroslav Svejkovsky | RW | 17 | Washington Capitals | $3,150,000 | 1926 | $4,983,445 | 1782 |
| Matt Higgins | C | 18 | Montreal Canadiens | $1,625,000 | 2591 | $2,550,452 | 2419 |
| Matthieu Descoteaux | D | 19 | Edmonton Oilers | ||||
| Marcus Nilson | LW | 20 | Florida Panthers | $7,361,000 | 1254 | $10,064,879 | 1213 |
| Marco Sturm | LW | 21 | San Jose Sharks | $27,945,000 | 454 | $36,168,801 | 393 |
| Jeff Brown | D | 22 | New York Rangers | $9,069,429 | 1114 | $15,510,161 | 920 |
| Jeff Brown | D | 22 | New York Rangers | $800,000 | 3304 | $1,201,672 | 3246 |
| Craig Hillier | G | 23 | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||
| Daniel Briere | C | 24 | Phoenix Coyotes | $64,303,561 | 80 | $78,247,059 | 86 |
| Peter Ratchuk | D | 25 | Colorado Avalanche | ||||
| Jesse Wallin | D | 26 | Detroit Red Wings | $1,886,000 | 2429 | $2,711,105 | 2360 |