The 1996 NHL Draft is often statistically ranked among the weakest, with Chris Phillips selected first overall by 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, the 1996 draft was deep and 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 | $38,853,689 | 444 | $60,247,414 | 348 |
| Andrei Zyuzin | D | 2 | San Jose Sharks | $10,545,000 | 1336 | $18,626,112 | 1184 |
| Jean-Pierre Dumont | RW | 3 | New York Islanders | $24,221,000 | 735 | $38,931,502 | 659 |
| Alexandre Volchkov | LW | 4 | Washington Capitals | $875,000 | 3978 | $1,797,976 | 3767 |
| Richard Jackman | D | 5 | Dallas Stars | $2,145,640 | 2919 | $3,559,358 | 2864 |
| Boyd Devereaux | C | 6 | Edmonton Oilers | $10,545,000 | 1336 | $19,100,043 | 1163 |
| Erik Rasmussen | C | 7 | Buffalo Sabres | $6,688,250 | 1706 | $12,338,340 | 1523 |
| Ruslan Salei | D | 9 | Anaheim Ducks | $22,621,500 | 789 | $37,503,634 | 691 |
| Dan Focht | D | 11 | Phoenix Coyotes | $1,050,000 | 3710 | $1,859,481 | 3711 |
| Josh Holden | C | 12 | Vancouver Canucks | $875,000 | 3978 | $1,730,032 | 3838 |
| Derek Morris | D | 13 | Calgary Flames | $38,591,098 | 449 | $61,861,783 | 337 |
| Marty Reasoner | C | 14 | St. Louis Blues | $12,694,512 | 1181 | $20,790,016 | 1099 |
| Dainius Zubrus | RW | 15 | Philadelphia Flyers | $36,850,244 | 472 | $57,630,803 | 377 |
| Jaroslav Svejkovsky | RW | 17 | Washington Capitals | $3,150,000 | 2434 | $6,209,558 | 2211 |
| Matt Higgins | C | 18 | Montreal Canadiens | $1,625,000 | 3242 | $3,177,958 | 3012 |
| Marcus Nilson | LW | 20 | Florida Panthers | $7,361,000 | 1618 | $12,541,215 | 1505 |
| Marco Sturm | LW | 21 | San Jose Sharks | $27,945,000 | 649 | $45,067,674 | 550 |
| Daniel Briere | C | 24 | Phoenix Coyotes | $67,644,893 | 141 | $102,051,594 | 108 |
| Jesse Wallin | D | 26 | Detroit Red Wings | $1,886,000 | 3051 | $3,378,138 | 2930 |