It’s early, but this has already been quite the week for Trevor Lewis.
Fresh off his surprise invite to Team USA’s Olympic orientation camp, Lewis avoided salary arbitration on Tuesday by agreeing to a one-year, $1.325 million deal with the Los Angeles Kings.
Lewis, 26, had a solid 2013 campaign for the Kings, posting a career-high in points (14) despite the lockout-shortened season. He averaged over 15 minutes per night and appeared in all 18 of Los Angeles’ playoff games, one year after scoring nine points in 20 postseason contests during the 2012 Stanley Cup championship run.
The Kings’ first-round pick (17th overall) in 2006, Lewis has emerged as a key part of the club’s bottom-six forward group -- and his deal could spell the end of Kyle Clifford’s time in Los Angeles.
Clifford, 22 is currently a RFA but doesn’t have arbitration rights. The Kings are fairly tight up against the cap and may considering moving him, considering he’ll probably be looking for a raise on the $870,000 he made last season after matching Lewis’ output (14 points in 48 games).