The 2004 NHL Draft featured Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin going 1-2, creating the most iconic duo in draft history. The first round also included Cam Barker (#3) and Andrew Ladd (#4). While star power was concentrated at the top, the draft produced an elite goaltender, Pekka Rinne, in the eighth round (258th). David Krejci (63rd) and Alex Edler (91st) were also major steals. Overall, 2004 was the "Year of the Russians," injecting two of the league's greatest offensive forces into the league and forever changing the fortunes of the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 2004 NHL entry draft:
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Alex Ovechkin | LW | 1 | Washington Capitals | $170,720,893 | 2 | $219,931,947 | 4 |
| Evgeni Malkin | F | 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | $142,541,373 | 4 | $185,260,850 | 6 |
| Cam Barker | D | 3 | Chicago Blackhawks | $10,628,156 | 1325 | $15,837,650 | 1312 |
| Andrew Ladd | LW | 4 | Carolina Hurricanes | $66,052,546 | 155 | $87,878,362 | 165 |
| Blake Wheeler | RW | 5 | Phoenix Coyotes | $81,151,220 | 79 | $103,219,844 | 106 |
| Al Montoya | G | 6 | New York Rangers | $7,478,805 | 1607 | $10,186,716 | 1697 |
| Rostislav Olesz | C | 7 | Florida Panthers | $19,857,072 | 861 | $29,103,083 | 858 |
| Alexandre Picard | LW | 8 | Columbus Blue Jackets | $2,750,000 | 2600 | $4,165,832 | 2668 |
| Ladislav Smid | D | 9 | Anaheim Ducks | $22,824,413 | 782 | $32,110,147 | 788 |
| Boris Valabik | D | 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | $1,650,000 | 3224 | $2,473,863 | 3365 |
| Drew Stafford | RW | 13 | Buffalo Sabres | $30,419,863 | 591 | $42,502,132 | 596 |
| Devan Dubnyk | G | 14 | Edmonton Oilers | $34,052,439 | 529 | $45,307,453 | 545 |
| Alexander Radulov | RW | 15 | Nashville Predators | $80,727,685 | 80 | $107,618,847 | 92 |
| Petteri Nokelainen | F | 16 | New York Islanders | $3,654,985 | 2282 | $5,612,322 | 2309 |
| Kyle Chipchura | C | 18 | Montreal Canadiens | $6,564,322 | 1718 | $9,461,731 | 1780 |
| Lauri Korpikoski | F | 19 | New York Rangers | $13,217,127 | 1150 | $18,498,568 | 1189 |
| Travis Zajac | C | 20 | New Jersey Devils | $57,512,356 | 216 | $77,981,783 | 215 |
| Wojtek Wolski | LW | 21 | Colorado Avalanche | $16,379,620 | 987 | $24,479,451 | 982 |
| Andrej Meszaros | D | 23 | Ottawa Senators | $29,108,088 | 613 | $42,124,353 | 604 |
| Rob Schremp | C | 25 | Edmonton Oilers | $1,465,750 | 3385 | $2,183,767 | 3522 |
| Cory Schneider | G | 26 | Vancouver Canucks | $59,026,199 | 206 | $75,706,189 | 231 |
| Jeff Schultz | D | 27 | Washington Capitals | $11,596,098 | 1250 | $16,707,601 | 1270 |
| Mark Fistric | D | 28 | Dallas Stars | $6,513,415 | 1723 | $9,323,584 | 1798 |
| Mike Green | D | 29 | Washington Capitals | $67,187,195 | 144 | $93,211,019 | 141 |