In the 2000 NHL Draft, Rick DiPietro became the first goalie taken #1, a move that became a cautionary tale of injury and high expectations. The round featured stars like Dany Heatley (#2) and Marian Gaborik (#3), as well as Scott Hartnell (#6) and Justin Williams (#28). It was a year for high-end wingers, though center depth was lacking. The ultimate steal was Henrik Lundqvist at 205th. Other gems included Antoine Vermette (55th). Overall, 2000 was a draft that warned teams about the volatility of taking goalies first, while ironically providing one of the greatest goaltenders ever in the seventh round.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 2000 NHL entry draft:
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Rick DiPietro | G | 1 | New York Islanders | $52,816,646 | 259 | $74,571,993 | 236 |
| Dany Heatley | LW | 2 | Atlanta Thrashers | $66,087,195 | 154 | $101,335,779 | 112 |
| Marian Gaborik | LW | 3 | Minnesota Wild | $96,059,244 | 41 | $138,970,903 | 39 |
| Rostislav Klesla | D | 4 | Columbus Blue Jackets | $15,472,598 | 1038 | $23,867,708 | 1002 |
| Raffi Torres | LW | 5 | New York Islanders | $19,349,390 | 879 | $28,604,943 | 868 |
| Scott Hartnell | RW | 6 | Nashville Predators | $56,030,671 | 226 | $81,768,906 | 195 |
| Lars Jonsson | D | 7 | Boston Bruins | $833,500 | 4063 | $1,332,591 | 4114 |
| Nikita Alexeev | RW | 8 | Tampa Bay Lightning | $2,600,000 | 2663 | $4,559,565 | 2558 |
| Brent Krahn | G | 9 | Calgary Flames | $105,000 | 5859 | $157,740 | 6228 |
| Pavel Vorobiev | RW | 11 | Chicago Blackhawks | $817,000 | 4086 | $1,348,349 | 4107 |
| Alexei Smirnov | LW | 12 | Anaheim Ducks | $2,150,000 | 2908 | $3,809,543 | 2776 |
| Ron Hainsey | D | 13 | Montreal Canadiens | $43,806,098 | 367 | $62,025,805 | 336 |
| Vaclav Nedorost | C | 14 | Colorado Avalanche | $1,925,000 | 3023 | $3,476,842 | 2893 |
| Marcel Hossa | C | 16 | Montreal Canadiens | $3,040,200 | 2476 | $5,020,952 | 2451 |
| Alexei Mikhnov | LW | 17 | Edmonton Oilers | $800,000 | 4101 | $1,279,032 | 4158 |
| Brooks Orpik | D | 18 | Pittsburgh Penguins | $47,670,122 | 315 | $67,004,245 | 297 |
| Krys Kolanos | C | 19 | Phoenix Coyotes | $3,768,400 | 2254 | $6,663,050 | 2134 |
| Alexander Frolov | LW | 20 | Los Angeles Kings | $26,450,000 | 681 | $40,258,984 | 630 |
| Anton Volchenkov | D | 21 | Ottawa Senators | $28,337,805 | 633 | $42,227,198 | 601 |
| David Hale | D | 22 | New Jersey Devils | $3,190,000 | 2424 | $4,968,817 | 2461 |
| Brad Boyes | C | 24 | Toronto Maple Leafs | $23,935,366 | 745 | $35,301,092 | 722 |
| Steve Ott | F | 25 | Dallas Stars | $22,405,120 | 795 | $32,376,306 | 782 |
| Brian Sutherby | C | 26 | Washington Capitals | $5,397,900 | 1896 | $8,505,760 | 1884 |
| Justin Williams | RW | 28 | Philadelphia Flyers | $52,105,427 | 267 | $75,830,988 | 230 |
| Niklas Kronwall | D | 29 | Detroit Red Wings | $48,124,146 | 310 | $67,774,359 | 289 |
| Jeff Taffe | C | 30 | St. Louis Blues | $1,185,200 | 3606 | $1,852,614 | 3717 |