Ben Shelley: Kings shouldn’t re-sign Trevor Lewis

I liked Lewis, solid bottom 6 guy, scored a couple big goals for the Kings, don’t think any were bigger then the one in game 6 against the Ducks, but it’s time to move on. Like said he’s 33 and it just doesn’t make sense since the Kings already have plenty of guys that can replace him, most likely produce more and will be cheaper. I definitely won’t miss his stone hands though.

I think it would depend on how the coaching staff were to utilize him.

If they were thinking top 9 than yeah let him walk, but if you keep him around for 4th line duties then that might make sense. Most prospects don’t develop when the only nhl action they are seeing is less than 10 minutes a night paired with other fringe players.

Lewis may be interchangeable with any other player in that role but he’s already familiar with the organization and having that cup experience would be good for the locker room

Let Lewis test the market. If he gets ~2mm for 2+ years, then bless his soul, he's been a great soldier, but let him go to free a roster spot. If he will take a pay cut, then keep him around, and let him mentor the kids. He might be motivated to stick around for a discount. He has a young family and loves the area.

The Kings aren't ready to start casting off their veterans just yet. I don't think we should give him a long term contract with a pay raise, but if he will take a 2 year contract in the $1-1.5M range, then I'm all for keeping him around.

Lewis has value because he can play anywhere in the lineup. He can play all three forward positions, and he has played on the 1st line to the 4th line. For years, he was the best penalty killer on the Kings next to Anze Kopitar, and the 2nd PK unit of Stoll and Lewis was part of the reason why the Kings had a league-best penalty kill for several years.

His play has fallen off from where it was 6-8 years ago, but he's still a useful player. The Kings penalty kill had a rough go the last couple seasons (mostly due to inexperienced defensemen), but has started to look really good of late.

A changing of the guard is coming in the Kings bottom six, but a lot of the players that project to fill in there long term are still in junior or the AHL (Dudas, Thomas, Madden, JAD, Grundstrom, etc.). A lot of these kids will need to learn to play the right way, and I'm a fan of keeping Lewis around to teach them. If we're going to cut bait on anyone, it should be on players like Amadio and Moore (i.e. fringe NHLers that are replaceable, that don't have Lewis's experience).

I'm also a firm believer that ice time should be earned at practice, not in games. Lewis has been a coach's favorite to all of the bench bosses that he has played for, all of which have praised his strong work effort and leadership. With a few exceptions for blue-chip prospects, teams should never "get young players into the lineup" to "start assessing..." Assessment should be done in training camp and at practice, never in games.

Lewis isn't the speed demon he once was, but he's still quick on his feet, is a quality defensive player, and still gets big PK minutes. There's still a spot for him on this team. I see Anderson-Dolan as the player that will one day take his spot, but that day hasn't come yet.

It's time to cut ties with the past(even Kopi and Doughty). The kids need to stand on their own feet.

Not directly associated with Lewis, but I think it's relevant if only as a cautionary discussion point.

As a fan who has endured his team (Oilers) casting off all their solid prime-aged players to open space for higher ceiling youth, be cautious about applying the principle TOO broadly. During the early years of the rebuild, the Oilers shipped out far too many from their prime age group (Cogliano, Penner, Petry, Schultz, Gilbert, Dubnyk, etc) in hopes that internal solutions would fill the gap between the Hall group and the Horcoffs, Smyths and Hemskys of the team.

Lewis is by no means going too far in this respect, but having effective players in each core age group (18-22, 23-27, 28-32) lends itself well to continued success and team cohesion. You've got the youth coming in and you have Kopitar, Brown, Carter, and Doughty in that veteran group but I'd be wary of your team weakening the prime age group too much.

With Pearson and Toffoli having gone the last 2 years, I think the Kings are running the risk of being shy of established mid-20s players to bridge the gap between the youth and the vets. Iafallo and Kempe are solid players, but I think it's folly to believe they'll be enough. I hope for your sakes Blake isn't making the same mistake the Oilers did.

You’re in full on re-build mode...
Should even consider trading doughty...
Could get a combo of quality picks and prospects

Nope. No they shouldn’t

Re-sign him so that a kid who needs more AHL seasoning gets it, then trade him at the deadline for a pick and call up that kid. Win-win.

Not directly associated with Lewis, but I think it's relevant if only as a cautionary discussion point.

As a fan who has endured his team (Oilers) casting off all their solid prime-aged players to open space for higher ceiling youth, be cautious about applying the principle TOO broadly. During the early years of the rebuild, the Oilers shipped out far too many from their prime age group (Cogliano, Penner, Petry, Schultz, Gilbert, Dubnyk, etc) in hopes that internal solutions would fill the gap between the Hall group and the Horcoffs, Smyths and Hemskys of the team.

Lewis is by no means going too far in this respect, but having effective players in each core age group (18-22, 23-27, 28-32) lends itself well to continued success and team cohesion. You've got the youth coming in and you have Kopitar, Brown, Carter, and Doughty in that veteran group but I'd be wary of your team weakening the prime age group too much.

With Pearson and Toffoli having gone the last 2 years, I think the Kings are running the risk of being shy of established mid-20s players to bridge the gap between the youth and the vets. Iafallo and Kempe are solid players, but I think it's folly to believe they'll be enough. I hope for your sakes Blake isn't making the same mistake the Oilers did.
- MaximumBone

Lewis is 33 so he's already in that large vet group.

Your point about having groups of players at certain age ranges is valid, for sure. You don't want to pressure kids into big minutes when they aren't ready physically and/or mentally. But the Kings are ok. Frk, Kempe, Hutton, Walker, Roy, Iafallo, Moore, Armadio, and Hutton constitute an ok bridge for the prospects in the mid-20's age rent. Maybe sign a few lower cost FA's in that group, too, for minimal term. Is this a world beating supporting cast? Hell no. That's why this is probably not a playoff team until at least 21/22. But there is enough there to bring the prospects along slowly.

Lewis is 33 so he's already in that large vet group.

Your point about having groups of players at certain age ranges is valid, for sure. You don't want to pressure kids into big minutes when they aren't ready physically and/or mentally. But the Kings are ok. Frk, Kempe, Hutton, Walker, Roy, Iafallo, Moore, Armadio, and Hutton constitute an ok bridge for the prospects in the mid-20's age rent. Maybe sign a few lower cost FA's in that group, too, for minimal term. Is this a world beating supporting cast? Hell no. That's why this is probably not a playoff team until at least 21/22. But there is enough there to bring the prospects along slowly.
- Only_A_Ladd

I get the general point, but I don't I qualify most of those other guys you mention as established NHLers to bridge that gap. The Oilers had plenty of guys like that, too, but rarely the proven guys.

Frk, Amadio and Moore are pretty much fringe guys and I don't know that I set Hutton far removed from that, either. If Walker can do what he did again, then I could agree with counting him, but his splits suggest a dip after the halfway mark. Not sure if that's the league catching on to his tricks or something else, but it's by no means a guarantee. Similar goes for Roy, though his play seemed more 'tidal' (month-to-month variation) in nature with a less defined drop-off.

LA at least doesn't have the same problem in attracting UFAs that EDM does, so comparisons have to be taken with a grain of salt. You can see how being an attractive destination can REALLY accelerate a rebuild (the Rangers getting Trouba, Fox and Panarin for simply being the Rangers comes to mind).

I get the general point, but I don't I qualify most of those other guys you mention as established NHLers to bridge that gap. The Oilers had plenty of guys like that, too, but rarely the proven guys.

Frk, Amadio and Moore are pretty much fringe guys and I don't know that I set Hutton far removed from that, either. If Walker can do what he did again, then I could agree with counting him, but his splits suggest a dip after the halfway mark. Not sure if that's the league catching on to his tricks or something else, but it's by no means a guarantee. Similar goes for Roy, though his play seemed more 'tidal' (month-to-month variation) in nature with a less defined drop-off.

LA at least doesn't have the same problem in attracting UFAs that EDM does, so comparisons have to be taken with a grain of salt. You can see how being an attractive destination can REALLY accelerate a rebuild (the Rangers getting Trouba, Fox and Panarin for simply being the Rangers comes to mind).
- MaximumBone

Right. That's why I state:

"Is this a world beating supporting cast? Hell no. That's why this is probably not a playoff team until at least 21/22. But there is enough there to bring the prospects along slowly."

The Kings have not reached their "bottom". They will still stink into the near future. But the prospects will get looks and won't have to play tough minutes if they aren't ready.

Also, IIRC, Trouba and Fox were acquired via trade. Your general point is right, though: it isn't easy getting FA's to EDM.

Right. That's why I state:

"Is this a world beating supporting cast? Hell no. That's why this is probably not a playoff team until at least 21/22. But there is enough there to bring the prospects along slowly."

The Kings have not reached their "bottom". They will still stink into the near future. But the prospects will get looks and won't have to play tough minutes if they aren't ready.

Also, IIRC, Trouba and Fox were acquired via trade. Your general point is right, though: it isn't easy getting FA's to EDM.
- Only_A_Ladd

Yeah, I'm not suggesting you think they're good, but I think we disagree on whether they even represent even an adequate, prime-aged supporting cast. I think my main point is to try to avoid bottoming-out entirely. As great as 1st overall picks can be, it's not worth the fostering of losing culture and the requisite collapse of your established player base. I think having guys like Doughty and Kopitar around will help you guys avoid that, though.

Yes, both Trouba and Fox were acquired in trade but both had explicitly told their previous teams that they wanted to/intended to sign with the Rangers and the Rangers alone. There were a number of stories from reputable sources about it in the lead-up to the summer. Had the players not explicitly wanted to go there, they would've had to compete with the market.

I will always be fond of Trevor Lewis for this. Checking master class:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JxArJ4pTJM

No one likes you, Vancouver.

It doesn't hurt to keep him around for a year or 2. It will allow the Kings to not rush guys into roles they might not be ready for. But also not putting to skilled a youngster into to low a role when he can play a bigger role in the AHL. Hes a super flexible player who can play all 3 roles. And has a good 2 way game. Kings will have the cap space for him. And he falls out. You just send him down. Thats where he is right now in his career.

Nope. No they shouldn’t
- KINGS67

He’s 30...how many years will it take to be relevant...at least 4...probably more.

GO ALL IN ON RE-BUILD!!!

He’s 30...how many years will it take to be relevant...at least 4...probably more.

GO ALL IN ON RE-BUILD!!!
- bruceflyers

Define relevant? If you mean actual front-runners for a Stanley Cup, then yea 4-5 years is probably realistic. If you mean likely to make the playoffs, then the Kings are only a season or two away. I expect to see them in the postseason in 2021-22.

The Kings are closer to the end of this rebuild than the beginning.

and who are the Veteran defensemen to mentor the rookies? Walker? Roy? Hutton? MacDermid?

The Kings are very young and relatively inexperienced on Defense. Keep Doughty around to mentor the younger players