The most productive period of Dainius Zubrus’s 10-year N.H.L. career was his last season and a half with the Washington Capitals, before he was sent to Buffalo at last season’s trading deadline. He was the center on a line with Alex Ovechkin, the spectacularly talented left wing.
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The Devils hope he will continue to flourish. They signed Zubrus yesterday to a six-year, $20 million contract. Zubrus, a 29-year-old native of Lithuania, will apparently fill the roster spot vacated by Scott Gomez, who signed with the Rangers.

But no one seems to know if Zubrus will replace Gomez as a top-line center, or if he even will be a center.

“Dainius Zubrus has the ability to play center, but we’ll see what the combinations are,” Lou Lamoriello, the Devils’ president and general manager, said.

The Devils still do not have a coach, and Lamoriello has had to scramble to replace Gomez and the longtime defenseman Brian Rafalski, an unrestricted free agent who signed Sunday with the Detroit Red Wings, his hometown team.

Zubrus, at 6 feet 4 inches and 225 pounds, is 5 inches taller and 25 pounds heavier than Gomez, a shifty and creative player.

But if Zubrus does not fill Gomez’s spot between left wing Brian Gionta and right wing Patrik Elias, Lamoriello said, the new coach will have choices. Travis Zajac and Zach Parise are also candidates to play center.

All Zubrus wanted was to join a team that wins more often than it loses. At the trading deadline Feb. 27, he was acquired by the Buffalo Sabres, who reached the Eastern Conference finals. He scored a career-high 24 goals in 79 games last season.

“I don’t think about whose shoes I have to fill,” Zubrus said. “I’m coming in, and I am my own player.”

The Devils also announced they had signed defenseman Karel Rachunek, 27, who played last season for the Rangers. Lamoriello said he planned to bolster the team’s defense with additional free-agent signings.

Zubrus is likely to be the biggest free-agent acquisition for the Devils, who move into a new arena in downtown Newark this fall.

Zubrus was the Philadelphia Flyers’ first-round draft pick in 1996, and it was often said that he had as much potential as Jaromir Jagr. By comparison, Zubrus was often disappointing. He scored only 19 goals in three seasons with the Flyers.

Zubrus can also play defense, and Lamoriello says Zubrus can blend in with any line combination and do just about anything.

“The key is the program, the system and the consistency,” Lamoriello said.

The Devils’ consistency, Zubrus said, was the franchise’s most appealing asset. He did not want to disclose how many teams were interested in signing him, but he said the Devils showed particular interest when he became a free agent.

Now all he needs is a position, a line and a coach.

“I feel confident at right wing or center,” Zubrus said. “What I’m going to play, I don’t know, but I know I can play in those situations and have that responsibility.”