| Player | Picked by | Picked from | Player dropped from protected list | Cash or claim? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | ||||
| Nolan Baumgartner | Pittsburgh Penguins | Vancouver Canucks | ??? | cash |
| Travis Green | Columbus Blue Jackets | Toronto Maple Leafs | Petr Tenkrat | claim |
| Wade Brookbank | Nashville Predators | Ottawa Senators | ??? | cash |
| Serge Aubin | Atlanta Thrashers | Colorado Avalanche | ??? | cash |
| Darren Langdon | Montreal Canadiens | Vancouver Canucks | ??? | cash |
| Sheldon Keefe | New York Rangers | Tampa Bay Lightning | ??? | cash |
| Round 2 | ||||
| Chris Mason | Nashville Predators | Florida Panthers | ??? | cash |
| Ronald Petrovicky | Atlanta Thrashers | New York Rangers | ??? | cash |
| Steve Begin | Montreal Canadiens | Buffalo Sabres | ??? | cash |
| Brian Willsie | Washington Capitals | Colorado Avalanche | ??? | cash |
| Todd Simpson | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Phoenix Coyotes | ??? | cash |
| Jeff Heerema | St. Louis Blues | New York Rangers | ??? | cash |
| Round 3 | ||||
| Steve Valiquette | Florida Panthers | Edmonton Oilers | Jani Hurme | cash |
| Shawn Heins | Atlanta Thrashers | New York Rangers | ??? | cash |
| Joel Bouchard | New York Rangers | Buffalo Sabres | ??? | cash |
| Denis Hamel | Washington Capitals | Ottawa Senators | Glen Metropolit | claim |
| Round 4 | ||||
| Jani Hurme | Carolina Hurricanes | Florida Panthers | ??? | cash |
| Mike Siklenka | New York Rangers | Philadelphia Flyers | ??? | cash |
Jani Hurme was a point of contention in this draft. When the Panthers took goalie Steve Valiquette from the Oilers in the third round they had to drop a goalie from their protected list, and they dropped Hurme. The Oilers could have claimed Hurme as compensation for losing Valiquette but chose the cash payment instead. The Sabres, Sharks and Predators passed on their picks and on the Thrashers turn GM Don Waddell called out Hurme's name. This broke two rules. First of all the Panthers had already lost a goalie—they lost Chris Mason to the Predators in the second round—and the maximum number of goalies a team could lose in the draft was only one.
The Panthers could consent to losing another goalie, and they did so with Hurme, however there was the second rule being broken in this case. It was a rather arcane interpretation of the rule about claiming a player dropped by another club. The rule, as written in the NHL By-laws, reads:
20.9 The club from which the draft claim was made shall have the option, exercisable immediately, of accepting the cash payment as outlined in subsection 20.11 below, or requesting that the player or goalkeeper removed by the claiming club be transferred immediately to its Reserve List and, if it so desires, to its Protected List. If the Club elects to add such player or goalkeeper to its Protected List, it must simultaneously drop a player from said list. If the player or goalkeeper is merely transferred to the Club's Reserve List, but not placed on its Protected List, he shall remain available for regular draft claim until so claimed by any Member Club, including the Club exercising this right to transfer, in proper sequence, except that he shall not be available to be claimed by any playoff club until all non-playoff clubs have had an opportunity to claim him. The foregoing option shall not be affected by the number of draft claims which have been made against the claiming club.
The league interpreted this rule to mean that Hurme had to be offered to all other non-playoff clubs first. If Hurme went unclaimed until the Thrashers turn in the following round then they were free to claim him. Unfortunately for the Thrashers the last-place Hurricanes beat them to the punch, taking Hurme with the first pick in the fourth round.
After the draft was concluded the Hurricanes traded Hurme to the Thrashers for a fourth round pick in 2004 (Brett Carson).
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