At age eleven Dainius moved to Kharkov, Ukraine to play hockey and became good friends with Dmitri Yakushin. The two friends would later find themselves teammates while playing junior hockey in Canada. The Canadian hockey scene was not an entirely new experience for Zubrus when he joined the Pembroke Lumber Kings in 1995 as he had been to Canada three years earlier to play in the 1992 Quebec International Pee Wee tournament.
Zubrus was drafted 15th overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers and he made his NHL debut on October 5, 1996, scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers. In his rookie season he proved that he would not be intimidated by the opposition and even earned some playing time on the Flyers big line with Eric Lindros and John LeClair, and helped the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Final only to lose in four straight games against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Flyers traded Zubrus to the Montreal Canadiens on March 10, 1999, with a pair of draft picks, in exchange for Mark Recchi. While in Montreal he took steps to improve his all-around game and had his best statistical season in 1999-00. He registered his first career hat-trick on October 14, 2000, against the Chicago Blackhawks, but was traded by the Canadiens to the Washington Capitals on March 13, 2001, and finished the year 16 points off his previous best total.
The talented forward tallied 43 points in 2001-02 and continued his strong play the following year despite being limited to a just 63 games. In 2003-04 Zubrus reached the 500-games played plateau and was named to Team Russia for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
Appearing in 71 games for the Capitals in 2005-06, Zubrus tallied a new career-high with 57 points. The following season Zubrus would continue his assault offensively on the league alongside sophomore sensation Alexander Ovechkin. Despite his increased point production, Zubrus was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres with Timo Helbling for Jiri Novotny and a first-round draft pick.
Zubrus finished his season off with the Sabres recording a new career-high 24 goals and 36 assists. After only 19 regular season, and 15 playoff games played with the Sabers, Zubrus' time in Buffalo had come to an end. The free agent was signed by the New Jersey Devils in the summer of 2007.
New Jersey would become home for Zubrus for the next eight seasons. He proved to be a model of durability for the club, suiting up in all 82 games four times. His most productive season with the Devils came in 2011-12 when he found the back of the net 17 times and added 27 assists for 44 points.
In the summer of 2015, Zubrus was placed on waivers by the Devils with the purpose of buying out his contract, making Zubrus a free agent. On November 24, 2015 he signed a one year deal with the San Jose Sharks. He would play one season in California which would prove to be his last in the NHL.
